Sweet Dreams
by Captain Annie
Summary: A young girl throws six mutants into bizarre dream worlds. Relationships will be tested and developed in this fun, romantic comedy. Mainly Romy with some KittyLancePiotrSurprise character hint, he's from the comics! Completed.
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men…sigh….

**Warning:** There will be Scott and Jean bashing in this story, cause I really don't like them. If you like them and you still read this, don't be offended.

Chapter One

"Rogue! Like come on, get up… you're going to be late!" a high-pitched voice penetrated through the sleeping girl's dream.

Mumbling something incomprehensible under her breath, the girl rolled on her back to stare bleary eyed at the figure trying to wake her up. Squinting her eyes to glare at her disturber of peace, she spied a pair of red on black eyes staring at her suggestively. Shaking her head to clear the illusion, her eyes cleared to reveal her peppy, valley girl roommate, Kitty Pryde. "Ah'm up already," Rogue muttered and dragged her body out of bed.

"Well, you better hurry up, the meeting starts in like a half hour," Kitty chided and phased through their door on the way out.

Sighing in annoyance, the young girl sat back down on the side of her bed and contemplated her odd dream. 'Why in the world did ah have Gambit's eyes in mah dream,' her mind screamed in protest, 'ah hate that guy.'

'No yah don't,' another part of her mind taunted.

Sighing in frustration, Rogue grabbed her towel from the rack behind the door and snatched her uniform from the closet, her gloves were a given with any outfit she wore, before heading out towards the shower.

She was one of the many mutants who presided at Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters, a school for mutants. Her power is her curse; she can't make flesh on flesh contact with anyone. When she touches someone, she absorbs them and gains the person's life force and in a mutants case, their powers temporarily. Her power denied her the one thing she craved most in the world… human touch.

Still rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Rogue found the bathroom empty and eagerly rushed in to claim the warm water of the shower. Her shower took longer than expected, for her mind kept straying back to those enticing eyes from her dream. Gambit's eyes, he had dared to wink or smirk at her with his red on black eyes many times during battles. Since he was one of Magneto's Acolytes, he fought against the X-men… but that didn't stop him from flirting with Rogue at every chance he got.

Groaning out loud, a now clean Rogue stepped out of the shower and pulled on her clothes in angry, jerking movements. Gambit's eyes… he tried to blow her up, why did she have to be thinking of him?

'Because he's sexy,' her mind teased.

"Ah've seen better," Rogue lied out loud and grimaced at the thought of talking to herself before picking up her toothbrush and vigorously scrubbing her teeth with a mint-tinted toothpaste.

'He also wasn't afraid ta touch yah,' her mind replied.

Rogue abruptly stopped brushing her teeth and hesitantly spit out the used toothpaste. That was the one thing she couldn't figure out about Gambit, he knew what would have happened if they touched, but yet, he still leaned in for a kiss during their first fight. Shaking her head in confusion, she raised her watering eyes to stare at her reflection; bright green orbs stared back at her. Her eyes were the only part of her face that could betray any emotion she was feeling, the rest of her face she kept hidden under thick, gothic makeup, which she was about to apply, when she was rudely interrupted. 'ROGUE! You're late! We're all waiting for you. This is a very important meeting, get down here now.' Jean's airy voice invaded Rogue's troubled thoughts.

'Stay out of mah mind!' Rogue yelled back through their physic link and with a huff left the bathroom, her makeup forgotten.

Rogue stomped down the main staircase, fuming with anger. 'Ah've told her again an' again, not to go into mah mind an' what does she do, she still goes in,' her thoughts screamed in fury.

'I heard that,' Jean replied in a cool, demeaning tone, her annoyingly high voice interrupting Rogue's current thoughts.

Grimacing, Rogue closed her eyes and concentrated on her mind shields, forcibly shoving Jean out of her mind and placing strong mental barriers so the nosy redheaded psychic couldn't get back in. She ran her gloved hands through her wet chestnut hair; two dramatic white stripes adorned the sides of her face. Sighing out loud, she decided that there was no hope for her hair this morning and stalked into the meeting room to be met with four very different faces.

Her eyes quickly roamed over the richly furnished room until they settled on the first person in the room. Scott, stick up his ass, Summers was giving her a disappointed stare and had his lips set in a thin, grim line. It was at times like these that Rogue wondered what kind of emotion showed in Scott's eyes; he had to keep them safely hidden behind his red shades to prevent red energy beams from shooting out of his eyes… his mutation.

Standing directly by his side was none other than Miss Perfect herself, Jean Grey. Jean was pretty, popular and her mutant powers included telekinesis and some psychic abilities. She also has a knack to get into everyone's business; it's easy to do that when one can read minds. The red head turned her cool green gaze to glare at Rogue. Not many could put up shields against her prying powers; Rogue was one of the exceptions and that annoyed the preppy girl to no end.

Rogue shrugged off the girl's disapproving glare to rest on one of her few friends at the institute. Kitty Pryde, with her bubbly attitude and caring manner, had managed to break through Rogue's isolated façade and develop a solid friendship with the Goth. Her powers enabled her to phrase through solid objects. Kitty stifled the giggle that threatened to slip through her delicate, pink lips as she watched the glare battle between Rogue and Jean. Smiling, Kitty tightened her light, brown ponytail and decided Rogue was definitely winning the glare battle, like always.

Glancing at the last person in the room, Rogue watched his yellow eyes light up in mischief as her half-brother, Kurt Wagner, twisted his fuzzy, blue face into a goofy expression. She bit her lip to prevent the smile from seeping through her nearly expressionless face as she tore her gaze away from the teleporter.

"Well, now that we're ALL here," Scott stated seriously, "the Professor just sent a message from Muir Island. He's located a new mutant with emerging powers in Bayville. He's asked us to go recruit her."

"Like, why haven't the Professor and the others returned yet?" Kitty asked, looking at her fellow mutants for an answer.

"The Professor, Logan, Ororo and the other students are undergoing training on Muir Island in Scotland. The professor has a few acquaintances there and they would have returned by now, but are having trouble with the X-Jet, so they'll be a few days late," Scott droned on, oblivious to the bored stares around him.

"Okay then, let's go recruiting!" Kitty shouted and jumped out of her seat.

"Last one to ze van iz a rotten egg," Kurt taunted and teleporter away with a flash, leaving a smoke like substance hovering in the air as well as the faint brimstone smell associated with his teleportation.

"Hey," Kitty squealed in protest and ran through the wall in the direction of the garage.

Rogue pressed her lips together to keep back the smile from slipping through at the sight of her friends' antics. She squared her shoulders and sent one more glare at Jean before making her exit towards the room. As she was about to close the door she glimpsed Scott pull Jean into a tender embrace and placing a chaste kiss on her lips. As much as Rogue disliked the pair, she couldn't help the twinge of jealously spreading through her whole body and she hurriedly made her way to the X-van. 'Ah'll never have tha type of relationship with someone,' her thoughts repeated through her head as she climbed into the vehicle.

Kitty sent Rogue a cheerful smile and pondered over her friend's somber expression until she saw Scott and Jean approach the van holding hands. Kitty rolled her eyes at their antics; those two always became touchy-feely around each other when they had a problem with Rogue. "Ignore them Rogue," Kitty whispered into her friend's ear as the couple climbed into the front seats, "they're only doing that to get a rise out of you."

"Ah know that… but no matter how hard ah try ta ignore them, it still hurts," Rogue shrugged and turned her watery eyes away from Kitty's searching face.

Kitty kept silent and took one of Rogue's gloved hands in her own, squeezing it gently. Rogue looked down at their joined hands in shock before a soft smile settled over her pretty features. 'At least ah have Kitty ta support meh,' Rogue's thoughts sighed as she settled back into her seat and prepared for the long ride, 'This mutant better be worth meh getting up this mornin.'

A/N: Well, there's chapter one. The whole story is almost complete and will be regularly posted every 2 days. There are going to be 7 chapters and maybe an epilogue. Have no fear, the real fun begins during the next chapter when Rogue and Remy... well, you'll just have to see.


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: Nope, the X-Men aren't mine…

Thanks for the reviews. The only reason I'm not posting all of the chapters at once are because they're still being edited by talented friends. But please be patient, it's worth it.

Chapter Two

The X-van slowed down to a stop and Rogue glanced out the window and saw the old abandoned Bayville warehouse directly in her view. "Raght, this is original. Can't we ever recruit a new mutant in their home fa once?" Rogue muttered out loud before nimbly stepping out of the van and stretching her numb limbs.

The regular route to the warehouse would have normally taken twenty minutes, but because Scott believed that he knew a short cut, the ride lengthened on to nearly an hour. "Alright team, we don't know if this mutant is hostile or not, apparently her powers just emerged yesterday. Jean and I will take the front entrance; Kurt and Kitty you both take the side entrance, and Rogue you sneak in the back. Okay, lets move out," Scott commanded sternly and before anyone could protest to the arrangements, he grabbed Jean's hand and marched towards the entrance.

"Rogue, are you like, going to be okay going solo?" Kitty questioned.

"Yeah Ah'm fine, you two poof out of here," Rogue smirked and watched the pair hold hands and disappear in a cloud of smoke.

Rogue quickly maneuvered her way to the back of the warehouse and found the back door's charred remains in a pile of ash. "Looks like someone got here before us," Rogue muttered under her breath before silently slipping through the darkened doorway.

From what Rogue could tell the warehouse had three dusty levels, was inhabited by rats, and contained five dim lights casting distorted shadows across the walls surfaces. She slid into the nearest shadow behind a large crate and scanned the area as best she could, searching for the new mutant, her teammates and the enemy. She heard a noise directly above her and spotted a swishing blue tail through the grating as well as a pair of pink sneakers right next to him. At least she found Kurt and Kitty.

She then caught another movement in the far right corner and witnessed Toad quickly climb down the wall and hop into the nearby shadows. 'Tha brotherhood is here, Ah should have known,' Rogue thought absentmindedly, 'but no one on their team has tha power of fire… ah shit, Magneto's Acolytes.'

Rogue immediately became more alert and scanned the warehouse over once more. This time she spotted a metallic elbow glinting from the upper level and could barely make out Colossus's figure amongst the shadows. Directly to his left, Rogue saw the small flick of a flame before it quickly disappeared, barely giving her a glimpse of the fiery redhead Pyro. "Where's tha blasted Cajun," she muttered quietly under her breath, her eyes quickly darting around the warehouse.

"Allo chere (Hello dear)," a thickly accented voice whispered into her ear directly behind her, "lookin' for Gambit?"

Rogue tightened her fist and was prepared to turn around swinging punches when one strong arm secured her own arms behind her back while a gloved hand clamped down quickly over her mouth. "Ah, not quick enough chere, Gambit be too quick for y'," his stated smugly.

Rogue rolled her eyes and slammed her foot down hard onto his foot while slamming her elbows into his ribs. She smiled against his firm hand over her mouth when she heard him grunt in pain. Rogue bit back a sigh when he didn't loosen his grip and continued her struggle.

"Shh, now stop y' strugglin chere and look around y' like y' were before. Don't y' think it's odd that none of us have found de fille (the girl) we came here for?" Gambit ordered and tightened his grip on Rogue.

Rogue continued to struggle against his painful grip, let out an angry sigh before biting down hard on his hand so that he removed his hand from her mouth. Drawing in a breath of fresh air she muttered, "What's yah point Cajun?"

"Gambit's point is there's probably somethin' in her mutation that enables her ta hide," Gambit smugly replied, all the while shaking his hand back and forth as if that would relieve it of the pain.

Rogue opened her mouth to shoot off a sarcastic retort when the main doors of the building were suddenly thrown open with a loud bang. The fighting pair turned their gazes to spy Scott and Jean confidently walk through the doorway.

Rogue let out a sign of annoyance; those two REALLY know how to sneak into places. "Don't yah dare say anything Gambit," Rogue threatened and turned her face towards him to give him her most lethal glare.

Many girls would find it very hard to glare at this gorgeous male specimen, but Rogue was not like many other girls. She was in no way swayed by his hypnotizing crimson on black eyes, his tousled auburn hair that just screamed for a girl's fingers to run through it, his alluring, smirking lips and that killer tall, muscular body that completed the whole package. In two words, Gambit was sex appeal and Rogue was convinced that his looks had no impact on her whatsoever… clearly, Rogue didn't know herself as well as she thinks she does.

"Chere, what makes y' think dis Cajun would say somethin'? Although, now that y' mention it, those two made a tres mal (very bad) entrance," he paused and looked at her face more closely, a flirty grin gracing his lips, "what is dis? Mon jolie fille (my pretty girl) didn't wear any makeup today."

'Ah knew ah forgot somethin' this mornin,' Rogue mentally cursed herself.

Gambit's eyes roamed over her face and still couldn't believe that this angel was Rogue, his enemy. He knew she was pretty, even with that thick makeup on, and he was attracted to her then. But now he realized why she wore that makeup, it was to push guys away from her… hell, with that face guys wouldn't care that she had untouchable skin.

He found himself lost in her clear green eyes and her tempting, soft, pink lips that just begged to be kissed. Already the wheels in his mind were turning, thinking up of all the ways to touch without skin on skin contact. And for someone who had such a creative imagination as Gambit, the list of ways to touch was endless.

Rogue suddenly became aware of how closely Gambit was staring at her face and was it her or did his bright eyes seem to turn a shade darker… he actually looked like he was attracted to her. Observing his reaction, Rogue immediately saw an opportunity open before her. She leaned back further into his grip, turning it into a near embrace. Rogue then slyly tilted her chin and gave Gambit a sultry look before fastening a heated gaze on his lips. "Gambit," she whispered close to his ear, "didn't yah father ever teach yah how ta treat a lady?"

A genuine look of confusion slipped over Gambit's normally expressionless face and Rogue felt his arms slightly loosen their hold on her as Gambit's hypnotizing red on black eyes stared intensely into her own emerald eyes. For a moment, Rogue believed that she could get lost in his eyes.

Somehow, Rogue miraculously snapped out of her daze to quickly pull the fighting technique she had been practicing with Logan all week. She deftly stomped on Gambit's foot, while elbowing his gut at the same time. Her surprise attack caused him to immediately release her from his hold. She then spun around and swung a right hook, connecting it with his stubbled jaw. Rogue smiled victoriously as Gambit fell to the floor face-first. She quickly hopped on top of his back and pinned his arms behind him.

The smile vanished from her face when she felt him begin to chuckle from beneath her. "An what tha hell is so damn funny? If yah couldn't tell Gambit, ah have tha upper-hand here!" Rogue demanded angrily.

Grinning, Gambit laughed, "Mon pere (my father) always told Gambit that some filles would be more aggressive than most, an Gambit's sure y' proved that today chere."

"Shut it Cajun," Rogue growled in annoyance.

She was soon distracted by Scott's voice echoing "hello" throughout the entire warehouse. Rogue watched both the Brotherhood and the Acolytes tense up in attack mode. "Dumb-ass," she muttered under her breath as her attention again resumed to Scott as he again repeated his greetings to the silent warehouse.

Gambit unexpectedly bucked under her, throwing her off of him. While she was thoroughly stunned lying on her back, he nimbly climbed on top of her prone figure, straddling her hips and firmly pinned her arms down at her sides. "Gambit couldn't agree more with 'y chere. T' forget about your opponent is a very dumb-ass thing t' do," he smiled sweetly down at her.

Groaning in disbelief, Rogue met his avid stare with her challenging gaze. " 'Y know chere, Gambit never expected 'y t' pull a stunt like that. 'Y do look tres belle (very beautiful) today chere. An since 'y tink it's d'accord (okay) t' play with Gambit's emotions, he believes some compensation is in order," he murmured as he thoughtfully stared down at her.

"What tha hell are yah talking about?" Rogue fumed, a hint of worry tinted the inner depths of her bright jade eyes.

"Gambit heard that one kiss from y' leaves a man weak in the knees," he smirked and fastened his gaze on her soft lips.

"Gambit, one kiss from meh will kill a boy like yah," Rogue dryly replied.

"Gambit's willing t' take de chance," he whispered and slowly leaned in to kiss her.

Rogue stared back at him in fear and anticipation. No one had ever made a move to kiss her when they were aware of her powers; except for Gambit... he had to be completely insane. However, it was exciting, having a hot guy like Gambit… 'Wait a minute… did Ah just say hot?' Rogue's mind screamed in shock, 'no no no… Ah'm losing mah mind.' And under no circumstances did she want Gambit's personality running amuck in her mind, Rogue could just imagine the amount of trouble he would cause up there.

Snapping out of her internal arguments, she suddenly became very aware of how close Gambit was to her face and wondered what it would feel like to kiss him. Even though she knew her power would kick in and drain him, she was still curious to see what a kiss from him would feel like if only for a split second. So instead of struggling away from his grip, she relaxed in his arms and watched his eyes betray his emotions. He lost the mischievous glint in his eye and was shocked that she wasn't pushing him away. Then miraculously, the tension seemed to completely disappear from his face and a sensual smile curved on his lips as they hovered mere inches away from her lips. Rogue felt enraptured by his gaze and began to move her face closer to Gambit's, wanting to desperately shorten the distance between them.

Before the pair could kiss a bright ray of red light exploded into them. She felt Gambit's body ripped from the top of her and watched him slam into a pile of crates, disappearing from her gaze. Rogue immediately jumped to her feet, ready to check on the Cajun when she ran into Scott's wiry form. Rogue snapped out of her daze and realized that for a second she was worried about Gambit's well being, the thought brought a scowl to her face. "Thanks Scott, yah really helped meh," Rogue sincerely stated and her face once again regained its emotionless composure.

"Well, you didn't seem to be putting up much of a fight yourself," he scolded angrily before turning his attention back to the center of the warehouse, "I think the Brotherhood is somewhere around here, you obviously know the Acolytes are here."

Rogue clenched her jaw in suppressed anger at his rude remarks and irritatingly followed him back to the center of the room where the rest of the team was waiting. But instead of joining them in the middle of the floor she chose to linger off to the side, using the protection of a nearby pole to partially hide her position.

She watched Jean confidently step away from the main group, bring her hands to her temples and concentrate for a moment while she searched for the young mutant's name before announcing in her airy voice, "Penny? We know you're in here. There's nothing to be frightened of… we're here to help. My name's Jean, my friends and I all belong to a group of mutants called the X-Men. We all have special powers just like you do, please show yourself, we want to help you."

A long stretch of silence surrounded the group when a familiar male voice echoed through the silence, "Take the hint and leave Red, the girl obviously doesn't want to go anywhere with you."

Lance "Avalanche" Alvers proudly stepped out of the shadows and stopped a few feet away from the rest of the X-Men. He spoke again shouting, "Come on out guys, it's just the X-geeks."

Upon his command Toad, Wanda aka the Scarlet Witch, and the Blob emerged from their hiding places and soon joined him opposite of the X-Men. "The new girl is ours, so get out of here," Fred "The Blob," boomed.

"Yeah, scram, she's ours," Toad mimicked and hopped closer to his crush Wanda, who saw his approach and sent a hex bolt at his feet as a warning to stay away from her.

"I don't think so mate," a fiery red head grinned from a story above them all before leaping over the rail and landing roughly on his feet; his hands were already ablaze with fire, it was rather fitting his codename was Pyro.

"Oh yeah, your going to stop all of us," Lance smugly grinned.

"Dat is vhere you are wrong," a deep voice resonated throughout the warehouse; a large, muscular man clunked his heavy footsteps towards the landing and somehow managed to gracefully land next to his teammate; Colossus was a force to be reckoned with.

A fast, rush of wind streamed past the brotherhood and halted next to the other Acolytes to reveal the smirking, silver haired boy Pietro aka Quicksilver. "If y' want de fille, y' will have t' go through us," Gambit's silky voice replied as he seemed to materialize from the shadows to stand in the front of his teammates.

'How tha hell did he get over there… he used ta be right behind meh in those crates,' Rogue's thoughts shouted in annoyance as she fastened a trademark glare at Gambit.

Gambit met her glare with a lavish wink as he stealthily slipped playing cards into his hands, waiting for the opportune moment to charge them. Rogue shrugged off his flirty manner and stood next to her teammates, removing her gloves as she prepared for the inevitable fight… she would personally take Gambit down.

Pyro was clearly the most impatient one there for he initiated the fight by throwing fireballs at both the Brotherhood and the X-Men. After that, all hell broke loose. The teams immediately split up, each individual determined to settle his or her own personal scores. Lance and the Blob started a full out attack against Scott and Jean while Toad aimlessly avoided random attacks, not really fighting any particular side. Wanda sought out Pietro, whom she had a personal score to settle. Kitty and Kurt teamed up against Colossus and Pyro; neither side seemed to be gaining any ground.

And of course, that left Rogue and Gambit. The pair immediately charged each other, throwing kicks, dodging punches, avoiding both charged cards and bare skin. Rogue felt her lips turn up in a smile as she continued to fight Gambit, the only other person who put up this much of a challenge in a fight was Logan… it was always refreshing to be surprised by an opponent. "Chere," Gambit gritted through clenched teeth as he kept her bare hands away from his face with the help of his bo-staff, "wouldn't it be nice to meet each other on friendlier terms for a change."

"No Cajun, these are tha only terms Ah'm willing ta meet with yah," Rogue briskly replied before dodging a charged card.

"More tha pity, Gambit guess he'll just have t' make do with these fights," he smirked as he dodged a punch to the face. Grabbing her outstretched arm to pin her arms behind her and wrapped a strong arm around her curvy hips he whispered in her ear, "Chere, Gambit must know, are y' wearing anything underneath all of dis tight spandex."

Rogue reared her skull back and slammed it into Gambit's head, causing him to release her from his hold. "A lady never tells," Rogue sweetly smiled and sent a roundhouse kick in his general direction.

Unknown to the fighting teams in the warehouse; a small figure appeared on the top floor of the warehouse. The young girl could be no older than ten with her innocent amber eyes, long, flowing, black hair and bright white nightgown. She surveyed the dismal scene below her and felt an extreme surge of anger that these people were fighting each other when they obviously all had special gifts. Her anger triggered her immature mutation, causing her eyes to turn a dark shade of black and a bright white glow slowly began to emit from her tiny body. "Stop FIGHTING!" her small voice screamed throughout the warehouse and a blinding light exploded from her body to wash over the occupants on the lower level. The white light crackled with unknown energy, splintering boxes and shattering objects as it barreled towards the small group. The young mutants immediately stopped fighting to stare up in both fright and awe of the approaching light. The young girl returned to her normal state and sent them all a pitiful look before disappearing… invisibility seemed to be one of her many powers.

Lance saw the incoming threat and could only think of Kitty's safety and desperately began to search for her. He spotted her small frame being protected by Colossus's towering body that unflinchingly stood between Kitty and the bright light. Lance ran over to Kitty, grabbed her hand and pulled her towards Jean, the only one capable of protecting them. He failed to notice that Kitty had grabbed Colossus's hand as well on their way to the telekinetic mutant. Jean immediately set up a force field around all in her reach, however it didn't cover all. The Blob still had Scott in a chokehold, they were the first one the light touched, causing them both the immediately collapse in a dead faint. The next to fall were Pietro and Wanda, the siblings instantly became unconscious and fell to the floor. There were only two other mutants not protected by Jean's force field and that was Rogue and Gambit who unfortunately, had conducted their fight behind the cover of a pole. The pair had stopped fighting with the rest of the mutants and could only stand their ground and watch the light approach them.

Rogue sent one last fleeting look at Jean's force field and realized that there was no way she could reach Jean in time. Squaring her shoulders, she prepared to face the light head on; Rogue couldn't think of a better way to go.

Gambit, however, could think of many better ways to go. He had already given up the possibility of escaping this unknown light and just watched in awe, as Rogue stood up against that light completely fearless. "What a fille," he chuckled under his breath and then realized a truly fitting ending to his life.

Smirking, he grabbed Rogue's hand and quickly turned her around, pulling her soft, curvy body against his lean, muscular frame. Taking one last hard look into her confused green gaze he grinned, "Au revoir mon chere (Goodbye my dear)," and bent forward to capture her lips with his own. His mind briefly realized how sweet she tasted when the bright light washed over them and his world went black.

Well, that's all for chapter 2. I hope it was enjoyable and just wait until you see the future Romy scenes...


	3. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I still don't own the X-Men and frankly I don't think I ever will.

Chapter Three

The white light stopped upon hitting the walls of the building, dissipating into a light layer of dust on the warehouse floor. Determining that the danger was over, Jean hesitantly let down her force field and slowly sank down to the floor, the extreme use of her power had considerably drained her. She wearily raised her gaze to the select few mutants she failed to protect.

She could barely make out Rogue and Gambit's half hidden forms from behind a pole, Wanda and Pietro were on the far other side of the warehouse, and Scott… as well as Fred the Blob, they were so close to her it was a painful reminder that she hadn't saved them. "Yo!" Toad's odd voice interrupted Jean's dismal thoughts, "they're still breathing," he cried from his position next to Scott and Fred.

Lance ran over to the prone figures of Wanda and Pietro and found them still alive and breathing as well. Kitty quickly made her way over to Rogue and Gambit's bodies, sending a curious look back at the guy known as Colossus. 'It was kind of cute how he tried to protect me from that light,' her mind giggled at the thought, 'although, it was Lance who dragged me over to Jean. How is it that there are suddenly too many guys in my life, I thought that was impossible!' Kitty shook her head to clear away her thoughts and abruptly stopped at the sight of Gambit and Rogue.

They were lying on the floor with their arms around each other in a tender embrace. A faint smile appeared on the young girl's face and she turned to face Kurt who had recently teleported to her side. "You know, this would look like so cute if I didn't know how much Rogue hated this guy," Kitty giggled in amusement at the thought that the pair actually cared for each other… Rogue would have definitely told her about any romantic feelings for Gambit… wouldn't she?

At that thought, a slight frown marked Kitty's pretty features as she again regarded the couple with an increased surveillance. Kurt smiled at Kitty's varying facial expressions; she always dug way too deep into others relationships. "Come on Keety, stop vorrying about them, Jean vants us to take them to ze med lab back at ze mansion," the fuzzy blue boy grinned as grabbed a hold of Kitty, Rogue, and Gambit before poofing them to the X-van.

------

Scott groaned in pain as he slowly opened his eyes to be met with many brightly colored objects. Shaking his head in confusion, he believed he was hallucinating, he hadn't seen colors for many years because his visor and sunglasses tinted everything to a red hue. He raised his hand to check on his sunglasses as a habit only to find they weren't on his face. Closing his eyes quickly in panic, he wondered why his mutation wasn't kicking in. Hesitantly, he opened one eye and was shocked to find that nothing had changed, no red beam shot from his eyes, in fact, nothing happened at all.

Gradually he opened his other eye to regard his surroundings in puzzlement. It looked like he was in some sort of carnival, and for some reason he felt extremely warm… in a comforting way. Snuggling back into this warmth, Scott gazed up at the stars in contentment when he suddenly felt something shift from around his shoulders. Glancing warily to his side he spotted a large arm draped casually around his thin form. Hesitantly, he turned to his other side to see who was holding him and saw Fred staring right back at him. Scott let out a yelp in surprise and quickly jumped to his feet. "Fred! What the hell were you just doing?" Scott shrieked hysterically at the large boy still stretched out on the grass.

"Me!" Fred yelled back, "I just woke up to find you snuggling into my arm."

"God Fred, don't be gay," Scott whined back and hesitantly looked around to see if anyone had witnessed his embarrassing episode.

It was only then that Scott noticed that there didn't seem to be anyone else in the entire carnival, it looked completely deserted. Cocking his head to the side, he silently wondered where he was and where the rest of the X-Men were. "Don't tell me this is heaven… the food selection is supposed to be better," Fred snorted as he got up and stood beside Scott.

"That's doubtful Fred, this is probably some consequence of that white light. Come on, lets try to find a way out," Scott commanded, once again slipping into his leadership role.

------

"What a headache," Pietro muttered in annoyance as he opened bleary eyes to take in his surroundings.

A large clown head was teetering back and forth from a spring directly above him. The clown's eyes were a dangerous blood red and seemed to be staring at Pietro threateningly. "That's freaky," he muttered under his breath, his cool blue gaze traveled throughout the mirrored hallway that seemed to stretch on forever.

He slowly rose to his feet and carefully made his way down the hallway. Seeing no immediate danger in this odd setting he tried to use his mutation to speed down the hallway. However, it wasn't working and no matter how hard he tried to run at his super speed it was all to no avail. He was so caught up in his dilemma he didn't see Wanda until it was too late… too late being when he ran into her. "Wanda," he squeaked out and jumped back a few feet, "fancy seeing you here."

Wanda stared at him unblinking with her angry lavender eyes for a while before raising her arm to call forth her hex power. She soon realized that some force had shut off her mutation and glared menacingly at her brother as she slowly began to stalk towards him. Upon realizing that her power didn't work either, a sly smirk graced Pietro's lips and he snidely remarked, "I'm not afraid of you anymore Wanda… you're nothing without your powers!"

"Really?" Wanda questioned mockingly, glanced at the mirror directly to her right before jabbing her elbowing into the surface with enough pressure to shatter the glass.

Pietro stood absolutely still in a state of shock, 'She's completely INSANE!' his mind shouted as he cautiously watched his sister's every move.

Wanda stared at the glass pieces on the floor before selecting the largest shard of glass and gripping it steadily in her hand before raising her vengeful gaze to rest on Pietro's terrified one. "I hate you and our father with every fiber of my being and hope that I can play some part in both of your demises. And I think this is the perfect situation to get my revenge against you for letting father lock me up in that mental hospital," Wanda spat in fury before raising the shard of glass like a dagger and menacingly approached Pietro's trembling figure.

Staring at his crazed sister and the glass shard, Pietro quickly turned around and sprinted in the opposite direction of his sister… his very life depended on it. Whatever that bright light was, it placed him in a horrible nightmare.

"That's right, go ahead and run dear brother. Catching you will make this chase all the more sweeter," Wanda muttered under her breath as she followed behind her brother at a steady pace.

------

Soft lips urgently pressed against hers as Rogue lay there in a state of darkness. Sighing from the sensation, Rogue blindly reached up with her hands to gently grasp the person's hair to bring his face closer to her own. A strange burning feeling settled at the pit of her stomach, somehow urging her to continue this blissful feeling. Rogue kissed her mysterious lover back harder, using her hands to keep his face as close to her as possible. In her dream-like haze, she could barely feel strong hands slowly moving over her entire body. They explored every curve her body offered before one settled comfortably on her hip while the other slowly made its way to gently grasp the nape of her neck and attempt to pull her even closer against the stranger's muscular body. 'What a dream,' Rogue's mind sighed in pleasurable bliss, 'an here Ah thought that light was going ta kill meh… wait a second, tha warehouse, tha light, Gambit…. ah shit.'

Rogue's eyes snapped open in surprise and she came face to face with Gambit. His tall body was comfortably stretched on top of her and his eyes were still closed as he leaned in to kiss her again. Rogue was about to protest in an outrage when she felt the pad of his thumb slowly trail along her jaw line as his lips once again began to lovingly probe her. Rogue inwardly shrugged and once more responded to his kisses. 'Ah don't know why mah power isn't kicking in and at this point Ah don't care. After all, it's not everyday that Ah get ta kiss someone… Gambit would just have to do,' Rogue reasoned with her mind and she could vaguely hear herself snicker at her own weak excuse.

She snapped out of her thoughts when Gambit's hands once again began roaming. She felt his palm just barely graze the underside of her breast as he slowly began kissing her down the column of her slender neck, the most sensitive area of her body. Rogue tried biting back the moan from escaping her lips but it was too late… it slipped out and the Cajun was beginning to open his eyes. Rogue frantically realized she had to do something quick, there was no way in hell she was letting Gambit think his kisses meant anything to her. She let out a loud shriek and kneed Gambit in the balls before roughly pushing him off of her. Gambit let out a surprised yelp as he rolled off of her body in pain. "What tha hell did yah think yah were doing Gambit," Rogue yelled at Gambit who was still curled up in a tight ball of pain.

Gritting his teeth in pain, Gambit slowly rose to his feet on shaky knees to face the now standing Rogue. "Y' see what Gambit said was true… y' kisses do leave a man weak in de knees," he gave her a painful grin before bending over to place his hands on his knees and draw in deep labored breaths.

"Don't flatter yourself Cajun, under normal circumstances, that type of kissing would have killed you," Rogue snapped in annoyance, inwardly hoping that she didn't hurt him too much.

"Really, den let's try again chere, just so y' can prove that y' re right," Gambit smirked at her from his crouched position before standing straight up and began to approach her with outstretched arms.

"Don't even think about it Gambit," Rogue threatened and started backing up until she ran into a log causing her to fall over backwards.

Rogue fell to the ground in an ungraceful heap, causing her to shoot a dirty look at the immobile log for causing her fall. 'Wait a second… a log?' her mind shouted in confusion.

As if reading her mind Gambit's eyes roamed around the entire area as he nonchalantly offered her a hand to help her up. Not even thinking about what she was doing, Rogue took his hand and used its support to help her stand as she too looked around. The pair was standing on what appeared to be a grassy hill surrounded by a deep forest, miles away from any mode of civilization. "Where tha hell are we Cajun?" Rogue asked uncertainly as she turned to face her "enemy."

"Gambit has no idea chere," he shrugged and glanced in her general direction.

Staring at his face Rogue let out a short gasp as she stared into his eyes. Gambit gave her a quizzical look as she leaned closer to him in order to get a better look. "Cajun… your eyes…" Rogue trailed off as she stared at him.

"Don't tell Gambit dat y' just realized he has devil eyes," Gambit sighed in disbelief before he muttered under his breath, "y' would tink dat after a significant amount of winking dat mon chere would know what Gambit's eyes look like."

"Gambit, yah don't have devil's eyes," she murmured and raised her glove-less hands closer to his face before subconsciously lowering them again, "Ah know what yah eyes looked like, they were beautiful. But yah eyes now… they're brown."

Gambit stared at her with a faint smile on his face as his mind sang out in joy, 'de fille didn't realize dat she just gave Gambit a compliment.' "Chere, Gambit's guess is dat we lost our mutation in dis dream world… dat's why y' lost de white streak in y' hair," Gambit grinned.

Rogue's mouth slightly opened in a surprised "o" at his statement and realized how true it was when she held out the front of her hair to see it was a matching chestnut color with the rest of her hair. She watched as Gambit withdrew a playing card from his trench coat and tried to charge it to no avail. Gambit sensed her gaze and look up at her with a mischievous gaze before smirking, "One more thing ta check… well double check."

Gambit quickly wrapped one arm around her waist to pull her close while the other hand reached out to tenderly cup the side of her face as he leaned down to kiss her. Rogue saw him slowly move down to kiss her and realized he was giving her a chance to escape. Smiling at the cute gesture, her brazen side took over for the Cajun was moving in just too damn slow. Rogue reached up and seized the collar of his trench coat with both hands, and roughly pulled him into a long, deep kiss. She felt Gambit smile against her mouth as he pulled her quickly against his body, allowing her arms to wrap around his back underneath his trench coat, the warmth emitting from his fighting uniform teased her with the thoughts of how his bare back would feel under her searching hands. The couple's passionate kiss slowly ended and Rogue hesitantly pulled herself out of his embrace before grinning, "Well, Ah guess ma power is turned off."

"So it would seem chere," Gambit smirked.

"Well, don't just stand there Cajun, let's get a move on… who knows where tha' exit is," Rogue drew in a deep breath to slow her rapidly beating heart and slowly made her way down the hill.

"Do y' really want t' leave dis place so soon chere?" Gambit questioned as he jogged over to walk next to her and snaked his arm around her waist.

"Don't even think about it Cajun," Rogue scolded and playfully slapped his arm off of her waist, "sorry ta break it ta yah sugah, but ah'm just using yah for yah kisses."

Gambit smiled at her and replied, "Dat's fine wit Gambit chere, Gambit'll always be here ta help a femme (woman) in distress. An since it seems we'll be gettin t' know each other better allow Gambit t' properly introduce himself… Remy LeBeau at your service mademoiselle (miss)."

"Well then Remy," she smiled and liked the way his name sounded as it rolled off her tongue and by judging his sudden hungry expression; he liked the way it sounded as well. She watched him slowly stalk towards her with obviously one purpose in mind, in her nervous anticipation stuttered out, "yah can still call meh Rogue."

"Remy never planned on calling y' anything else chere," he whispered and once more captured her lips with his own; slowly stretching the kisses out so that each kiss sent a shock wave of shivers through her body.

Remy had no idea why he kept having sudden urges to kiss this girl breathless, not that he was complaining, but he normally had more restraint on his emotions. As their kiss deepened, Remy playfully nipped at her bottom lip with his teeth as he pulled her body flush against his, savoring the close contact.

Rogue was at a loss, she hadn't the slightest clue why she didn't have the power to push him away. Her body was on fire, causes the slightest touch of his skin against hers to send pleasurable shivers down her spine. She vaguely felt her leg slide up his side, immediately grabbed by his seemingly waiting hand to pull her even closer to his firm body.

Just as Rogue gathered enough strength to push him away before she knew she wouldn't be able to resist him, Remy began placing soft, light kisses along her throat. 'That's it' her mind sighed, 'Ah'm done for, he went for the neck.' She instinctively tightened her hold on his shoulders as the rest of her body went limp in his arms.

Remy's hand raced up to support Rogue's head, which had somehow fallen backwards in the midst of his kisses. He paused in his exploration of her neck and was going to stop before he lost control when he felt her smooth fingers trail up the side of his face before lightly grasping his hair and lowering his mouth back to her throat as she whispered "Remy."

'Dat's it,' Remy's mind sighed in acceptance, 'dere is no way Remy can stop now after his fille said his name like dat.'

Still cradling her head in one hand, his other hand raced to the curve of her hip to pull her gently against his frame as their two bodies molded together perfectly. Lowering his mouth once more to her silky throat he placed another soft kiss there and then another before his lips traveled back up to her lips. In fact, those kisses could have gone on for a long time if a gruff voice hadn't shouted, "Remove your hands at once from Lady Marie!"

Remy ignored the man because he wasn't kissing a Marie; he was kissing his Rogue. It wasn't until he felt the tip of a blade at the back of his neck that he slowly pulled away from Rogue. Remy's eyes flashed in anger as he surveyed the group of seemingly medieval knights who had surrounded the couple with drawn swords. "Lady Marie, are you alright?" an elderly looking knight asked politely while staring at a very flushed Rogue.

"Sorry ta burst yah bubble sugah but Ah'm not yah Lady Marie," Rogue replied and she looked at all of the men in the group trying to determine if she could fight off all of them.

"Marie," a middle aged, bearded man shouted from his regal position on a black stallion a few feet away from the surrounded couple, "step away from that thief immediately!"

Gambit tightened his grip on Rogue's waist as she turned towards the man on the horse, yelling, "And who tha hell are yah trying ta tell meh what ta do."

"I'm your father," the man dryly replied.

The young couple looked at each other in shock. First the weird scenery, then the medieval knights and now Rogue had a father, who surprisingly had a British accent… something was very wrong.

"Remy don't know about 'y chere, but dat was the last answer Remy be expecting," Remy whispered in Rogue's ear, pulling her closer to his body with one hand as his other hand disappeared into the pocket of his trench coat, searching for his bo-staff. He had a feeling that this situation was going to get ugly.

A/N: Well, that's all for chapter 3. I want to thank everyone for the wonderful reviews. Every time I check my email and see a review alert I can't help but feel a little giddy. I actually just finished chapter 7 (aka the final chapter) and my stories have been getting edited a lot faster… so believe it or not the entire story will be completely published by the end of next week. Hope you are all enjoying this story as much as I enjoyed writing it.


	4. Chapter Four

Disclaimer: The X-Men don't belong to me. If they did, do you think I would be writing these stories on-line? Oh wait… I probably would.

Chapter Four

"So Red, does all of this high tech equipment actually tell you what's wrong with them," Lance impatiently sighed as he looked over the six immobile figures lying on the hospital beds.

"Well," Jean thoughtfully replied, "I'm no doctor, but these readings show that the light did no physical damage to them. However, I have no idea what type of mental damage they may have."

"Are you saying dat dey might never wake up?" Piotr softly asked in his deep Russian accent, staring solemnly at Gambit, his only true friend in America.

"I'm afraid so," Jean whispered sadly as she gazed at Scott; now she didn't have a date to spring formal… unless she called up Duncan, hooray, her problems were solved.

"Not necessarily," Kitty reported from her seated position in front of a computer that she hacked her way into, " I ran some tests on the dust that the white light left behind and it turns out that it's some sort of sleeping powder. It hasn't messed up their brains, they're just in a deep sleep."

"Wow, pretty Kitty, I'm impressed… you didn't use like once," Lance teased his ex-girlfriend playfully.

"Don't be like, immature Lance," Kitty huffed, blushing a faint pink from the attention.

"Dat was amazing," Piotr murmured quietly as his moved to Kitty's side and bent down to stare at the computer screen, "you are very smart."

Kitty looked in awe at the muscular man beside her and felt her stomach do somersaults as she stared at his cute facial features. "That is like, the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me," Kitty smiled softly and turned her blue, doe-like eyes to gaze adoringly at Piotr.

Lance felt his gut tighten as he watched the interaction between Kitty and Piotr. 'She used to look at you with that loving expression,' Lance's mind taunted, causing the young man to tear his gaze away from the pair and stare off into space as he silently wondered why a sharp pain had settled in his chest.

"Wow Keety, does the Professor know you can do that?" Kurt mumbled through a mouthful of powered doughnuts.

When she didn't answer or even acknowledge that he had spoken (because she was so smitten with Piotr), Kurt shrugged his shoulders and shoved another doughnut into his already full mouth. He had made a side trip to the kitchen before poofing into the med- lab with the rest of the group.

As he reached into the box to pull out the final doughnut he discovered that it was gone. Letting out a shriek of horror, Kurt raised his tawny eyes to frantically search throughout the room for his beloved snack. He quickly spotted his "kidnapped" doughnut in the hands of the fiery-orange haired boy, John "Pyro" Allerdyce. John was innocently staring up at the ceiling, whistling a happy tune as he rocked back and forth on the heels of his feet. He slyly had the doughnut partially hidden in one hand; his other hand was busy flicking his lighter on and off. Kurt watched in shock as John raised the doughnut to his mouth in what seemed like slow motion to the fuzzy blue elf. Letting out an exaggerated "NO!" Kurt poofed directly next to the Australian Acolyte and made a desperate grab for his stolen pastry.

Unfortunately, Kurt's timing was off and he lunged for the wrong hand, grabbing the lighter instead of the doughnut. John screamed in panic upon realizing that his lighter was gone. The doughnut forgotten, he lowered the tempting delicacy from his lips and stared at Kurt in shock. "Gimme back me baby," John pleaded, staring at his precious lighter with watering eyes.

Kurt's eyes lit up in surprise, the day was not lost… he had a bargaining tool that could get his doughnut back. "Ve make a trade, your lighter for my doughnut," he negotiated, sending a hungry glance towards the doughnut.

"Anything for me baby," John quickly agreed, offering the doughnut to a now drooling Kurt.

The two quickly exchanged items, Kurt wasted no time as he shoved the doughnut into his mouth and chewed it very slowly in order to savor each and every bite. John tenderly held his lighter in the palm of his hand, softly stroking it for comfort.

Unfortunately for John, the lighter wasn't in his possession very long for once again, the X-Men's nosy redhead decided to meddle in others lives. John watched despairingly as his lighter levitated in the air and flew across the room into Jean's awaiting palm. "I'm sorry John, but you're a hazard in our home with this lighter, I'm going to have to confiscate it," Jean plastered a sugar sweet smile on her face and pocketed the lighter.

A string of curses surged through John's mind as he tried to think of a way to get his lighter back. "Now John," Jean's airy voice floated across his mind, "those aren't nice things to call me."

"You fucking bitch! Get out of me head," he shouted and menacingly approached the snobby red head, his stormy blue gaze blazing with fury, "and give me baby back!"

"Now John, I thought I already explained that you're dangerous with this lighter," Jean sighed in a condescending tone, "so I'll keep it until you leave."

Piotr saw his friend about to charge Jean and quickly grabbed the hysterical Pyro before he could do any real damage to the girl or anyone else in the room. "How would like it if I took away your mind so that you couldn't use your powers shiela (this means girl in Austrialian lingo, one of editors didn't know this and I didn't want to leave anyone hanging ) )… would you like that," John threatened the cowering Jean.

"Calm down my friend, why don't you leave for a while and come back when you have cooled down… maybe you could swing by the store and pick up a new lighter," Piotr quietly whispered in John's ear and releasing him from his hold.

John ceased his struggles and inhaled deeply before addressing the group of mutants. "Well mates, I don't know about you but I need some fresh air, I'll be back later… oh and shiela," John evilly smiled at Jean before exiting the room, " read me mind again and I'll come after you while you're sleeping."

Piotr brought his hand up to his forehead in a mock slap at his friend's antics, wishing the throbbing headache to go away. 'Dat vas not John's best exit… now this will be awkward,' his thoughts sighed.

"Don't worry about it," Kitty sweetly smiled up at the tall Russian and rested her small hand on his arm, "Jean gets on like, everybody's nerves, no one blames him."

Kitty stared into Piotr's steel blue eyes and inwardly squealed with delight. It wasn't going to be hard for her to fall for this tall, dark and handsome man… not to mention those muscular arms; they were enough to make a girl swoon. She was brought out of her dream like state when she heard Lance announce loudly, "Well, they're not waking up so this must be in more than a deep sleep," and was it her imagination or did he sound more pissed off than he usually was.

"Yo man, how do you know?" Toad asked while scratching his head; he was obviously confused.

Lance grinned deviously before answering, "I tried to wake Pietro up regularly by shaking him, but since he didn't respond to that I slapped him around a bit and believe me, Pietro is a crybaby and he would have definitely woken up by now if it was a regular sleep."

-----

"I cannot believe that there is no way to get out of here," Scott grunted in dismay, toeing the ground next to a brightly lit stand.

Fred grunted in response, feeling helpless in his weakened state. He tried punching a hole through the high, concrete, carnival walls and ending up with sore knuckles and growling stomach, he couldn't remember how long it had been since he ate last.

The two had tried every possible way to get out of this carnival. Unfortunately, there was no exit or entrance for that matter and a fifty-foot concrete wall enclosed the entire area. After Fred's plan of punching a path through the wall failed, he decided to search the deserted fairgrounds for some food and Scott helplessly trailed after him, all the while contemplating what the Professor would do in this same situation.

Scott finally raised his pitiful brown gaze to rest on the contents of the stand in front of him. A large banner proclaiming "Love Tarts" draped over the front of the counter that displayed a tray filled with tempting cherry pastries. Scott looked for Fred and spotted him rummaging through the Cotton Candy stand, struggling to make the machine work. Believing in every man for himself out in this bizarre world, Scott shoved three delicious pastries into his mouth and then quickly devoured the remaining sweets. The blissful feeling of a full stomach turned uncomfortable when Scott's stomach let out an unnatural groan and racking pains caused him to double over in agony. His eyes quickly hazed into a red glow that wasn't associated with his mutation. Scott crumpled to the ground as one last bolt of pain shocked his body, leaving him in a state of paralysis. And then just as soon as the pain occurred, it was gone and Scott abruptly sat up and groggily looked at his surroundings.

Fred saw Scott crumple to the ground and quickly (if that's even possible) lumbered over to his prone figure. By the time he reached Scott, the teen had already sat up and was looking around in bewilderment. "Scott, are you alright?" Fred asked, not really sure what to do in this situation.

Scott felt happy… happier than he had been in a long time. A warm, fuzzy feeling had settled in the pit of his stomach and he felt hot… very hot. His feverish gaze frantically met the gaze of Fred's troubled eyes and he felt something he only normally felt around Jean… desire. He didn't know why he didn't see it before, beneath all of the rolls, drool, and size; Fred was a sexy guy. And Scott wanted him, to be near him, to touch him; he couldn't hide his feelings any longer. "Fred," Scott breathlessly whispered, "you have beautiful eyes… will you hold me?"

A look of pure confusion past over Fred's face, and then it all became clear to him and a look of fear clouded his features. "Scott," he stammered out while slowly backing away from him, "something is not right with you… I'm not gay so keep your space."

"Oh Fred," Scott gave him a sultry smile, "I just want to be close to you, will you let me love you?"

Fred stood there blinking for awhile and took one more look at Scott before turning around and running away as fast as his 300 pound body would let him.

Scott watching his love flee from him, he secretly enjoyed this game of cat and mouse. "Fred… my darling, I just want to be loved," he shouted and started chasing after Fred's retreating form.

-----

His breath came out in short, ragged bursts of air as he slowly peered around the corner to check if his sister was anywhere in sight. Pietro couldn't remember the last time he ran out of breath from running. It was an unnatural feeling and one that he hoped he wouldn't get used to. His bright blue eyes widened in fear as he heard the familiar _click click_ of his sister's heels as she rounded the corner and met his gaze.

A sadistic smirk graced her lips as she closed in on her brother. The shard of glass she clutched had cut her hand, causing a steady trail of blood to follow her every move. Wanda stealthily approached her brother's cowering figure and raised the dagger in a stabbing position. Just as she was about to strike, a dark figure rounded the corner and into her line of vision. She paused her attack to evaluate her new opponent. A tall, thin, darkly-dressed clown watched her from the end of the hallway, tufts of green hair stuck out from his crumpled flower hat; blue, bloodshot eyes regarded her closely from a white-paint encrusted face with a twisted smiled stretched across the figure's blood-red lips.

"What the fuck is that?" Wanda muttered as she stared bewildered at the clown.

The clown stared at the siblings eerily, smiling at them and raising his hand in a jerky wave. His lips suddenly stretched wide open and an ear-splitting scream resounded from the thin body. The clown maniacally charged at the siblings, raising his hands to reveal sharp, pointed claws and laughing hysterically as he sought out his prey.

If Pietro had drank anything that day he would have pissed his pants. Shrieking in fear, his eyes searched for a quick escape only to find the hallway had mysteriously turned into a dead end. He began pushing at the walls, hoping against all odds for an escape. His frantic eyes turned to spy the clown almost upon him, and his sister staring at the approaching circus freak in shock. Pietro desperately rammed his shoulder into the wall one last time and jumped when a hidden door opened, offering him an escape. Without thinking, he grabbed his sister and roughly pulled her through the door with him, slamming it shut just as the clown collided into the door. His bright eyes scanned the dark, empty room before letting out a sigh of relief and slowly sinking to the floor, attempting to slow down his rapid breathing.

Wanda miraculously snapped out of her shock-induced trance to peer at a dark room and her brother's crumpled, shaking body. Some force had taken over her body, freezing her limbs and paralyzing any movement she might take. She was completely prepared to fight that clown when she was rendered helpless by some unknown force. In fact, that clown would have killed her had her brother not stepped in and saved her, an action she couldn't understand. "Why did you help me?" she demanded, looming over her brother.

Pietro immediately stood up and faced his sister, determined not to show his fear of her. "I don't know," he quickly replied, running a somewhat shaking hand through his silver hair, "I couldn't just leave you there."

Narrowing her violet eyes to ascertain her brother's honesty by peering at him, Wanda insisted, "but why? I'm trying to kill you, why would you help me?"

"Because you're my sister Wanda!" Pietro exclaimed, "I couldn't leave my own family member out there to be killed by some demonic clown!"

Wanda remained silent, pondering over her brother's seemingly truthful words. She wanted to believe him, but she had been hurt and betrayed by her family in the past and wasn't ready to believe his seemingly new found affection towards her. Throwing the shard of glass she still clutched to the ground, she ripped the hem of her shirt off to make a make shift bandage around her bleeding palm. "Because you saved my life I will spare yours. But I still despise you, so keep your distance," Wanda spat and stalked away from her brother to search for an exit.

-----

"Ready t' fight chere?" Remy whispered, tightening his grip on the bo-staff.

"Sugah, Ah'm always ready for a fight," Rogue replied, clenching her slender fingers into fists.

"Knights," the nobleman shouted from his stallion, "this thief has my daughter under some type of spell. You'll have to take them by force, but don't hurt my little girl."

"Little girl," Rogue muttered in disgust before charging at the knights, squarely punching the first knight through the opening in his helmet, knocking him off balance as other knights closed in around her.

Sighing in disbelief at her rush into battle, Remy rammed his indestructible bo-staff into the body of the nearest knight who surrounded Rogue. He quickly swiped his staff under the feet of the slow knight, bringing him to the ground with a heavy crash of armor before delivering a quick blow to the head to render the knight unconscious. He had to take care of a few more knights before he was able to join Rogue's side.

"Welcome to tha fight Remy," Rogue smiled as she threw punches at another knight who was already weakening from her stream of hits.

"What's with the solo battle charge chere? Remy thought y' X-Men believed in teamwork," he questioned while fending off another knight.

"Ah prefer fighting alone, that way Ah only have to worry about myself," she shrugged, refusing to acknowledge the painful throbbing of her sore knuckles as she slammed her fist into the face off another knight.

Remy silently agreed with her statement, he preferred fighting alone as well. However, since he woke up in this bizarre world, he developed this odd need to protect Rogue, even though he was positive she could look after herself. Banishing this disturbing thought that he might have deeper feelings for this girl he pouted, "Why chere, y' make it sound like y' don't care bout Remy's well being… what if Remy was in trouble?"

Snorting in amusement at his statement, Rogue suddenly came to the conclusion that she would not hesitate to come to his aid if he indeed was in danger. Realizing that the Cajun was beginning to grow on her, she ignored her constant stream of bothersome thoughts and tried to concentrate on fighting. "Stop yah rambling Cajun, it's distracting," Rogue ordered, narrowly missed the swipe of a sword at her side.

"Y' have Remy's sincerest apologies chere, Remy can't help his voice is so sexy and he's so good looking it's distracting," Remy smirked, egging on her fiery temper that never failed to amuse him.

"Remy," she warned, "stop it, Ah can't concentrate."

No sooner had she finished her statement that an armored arm snaked past her defenses and roughly grabbed her in a headlock. Rogue gasped at the unexpected move and tried to wiggle out of her captor's grasp when the cold, tip of a blade stilled her struggles. Never before in her life had she felt so powerless, and with the absence of her life draining mutation she couldn't reply on the guarantee that her poisonous skin would save her.

An unsettling weight settled at the pit of Remy's stomach when he glimpsed Rogue's capture and he charged towards her captive figure, leaving his back open for an attack. He should have known that with all his luck a knight, who normally was regarded as virtuous and honorable, would strike him in the back. Remy felt the hilt of the blade slam into his unprotected back, causing him to stumble to the ground as tried to catch his breath. His slowly raised his trembling body from its vulnerable position and spun around to block his opponent's next attack. Sadly enough, his reaction time was slower than usual and he turned just in time to be knocked unconscious with a blow to the head.

Rogue let out a choked sob when she heard the unnatural crunch caused by the knight's steel fist when it struck Remy's head. She watched his body crumple to the ground with watering eyes as she increased her struggles, heedless of the blade digging into her side.

"The lady still struggles m'lord, what should I do?" the knight asked, still maintaining his tight vise on Rogue.

"You'll have to bind her hands," the noble sighed and winced when he saw Rogue make an attempt to kick at an adjacent knight, "and her ankles as well."

"And for the thief?" another knight inquired, his foot squarely planted on Remy's unconscious form.

"We'll take him back to the castle dungeon and decide from there what to do with him," the lord ordered and silently watched his knight assemble into their lines before leading the march back to his keep.

'Think Rogue think,' her mind screamed in frustration as she darted a quick glance at Remy's now semi-conscious form being dragged by another knight, 'there has to be some way out of this dream world… nothing is making sense, we can actually get hurt here."

Rogue glanced around at her surroundings and jumped in surprise when the area abruptly changed from the lush forest in a sweltering desert and back to a forest. She tightly closed her lids to clear her mind and opened them to a forest once more. Forcing her thoughts not to dwell of the scenic changes she began to tune into the conversation around her. Rogue was startled to find that everyone was speaking with a different type of accent. 'What tha hell is going on here, the scenery is all jumbled, everyone sounds different, our powers were somehow negated… either Ah've completely lost it and have gone insane or that new mutant did something ta us,' Rogue reasoned with herself until be snapped out of her train of thoughts when "her father's" curt voice interrupted her.

"My darling little girl, don't you recognize your home?" the man claiming to be her father asked, motioning to their estate.

Rogue's jaw dropped in shock upon seeing her "home." A towering white castle that seemed straight out of a fairytale loomed above her as the procession of knights made their way inside the gates. Five lean, whitewashed towers sparkled against the approaching sunset; brightly colored flags rustled in the calm wind from on top of the blue-tiled steeples. A large group of people rushed at the knightly procession when they reached the inner courtyard outside the steps of the palace. Nobles, knights, and peasants greeted the procession, welcoming them all home. A few people cried out their thanks to the heavens for the safe return of their beloved Princess Marie. "Oh mah god, Ah'm a princess," Rogue softly whispered to herself as her legs were untied and she was escorted through the throngs of people and up the stairs to the palace.

The whispers regarding her odd clothing and the bonds around her hands snapped Rogue out of her dream-like state and she remembered Remy. Quickly turning back towards the inner court, she saw him being led through a heavy wooden door and down a dark pair of stairs before she lost sight of him and was guided into the palace.

The sheer size of the lengthy hallway distracted her from her previous thoughts of rescue; causing her to gape at the expensive white marble columns and shiny oak floor that adorned the inside of the palace. A variety of winding stairwells led from the huge ballroom, making it very difficult for Rogue to gain her bearings. However, an ingenious plan began to form in the young woman's mind, causing a devious smile to grace her soft lips. Rogue quietly let her knightly escort lead her to the throne upon which "her father" was sitting. She quickly pinched the corners of her eyes when no one was watching, causing her eyes to well up in tears as she raised her eyes to meet those of the king. "Oh papa," Rogue sobbed in her best Yankee accent, "I'm so scared, why am I a prisoner, what happened to me!"

Rogue wretched away from her captor's hold and ran to the king, collapsing a fit of sobs at his feet. "My darling daughter, you have returned to me," the king sighed in relief, dropping to his knees and pulling Rogue into a tight hug. She raised her tear-stained face to smile at the king and held up her bound wrists before innocently asking, "Papa, why am I tied up and whatever am I wearing?"

Motioning for his guard to cut her bonds, the joyful king took Rogue's now free hand, linking it through his arm and leading her out of the common room and up a winding set of stairs. "My dear, the leader of the thieves kidnapped you, for a ransom I assume, and put you under some type of spell. We found you today, dressed like so and in an indecent action with the thief. Can you remember none of this?" he asked in a slightly suspicious tone.

"None of it father… that rascal must have… drugged me," Rogue replied, widening her eyes and giving him the most innocent look she could muster.

"I believe you my angel, now I've ordered Jeanine to have you fed and dressed for bed, the hour is growing late," the king ordered and softly placed in the arms of petite, heavyset redhead and kissing Rogue on the cheek and whispering good night before making his way down the hall.

Rogue turned to face the servant who face was twisted in a sour grimace. "Now then," the plump woman boomed in nasal voice, "you heard your father, get a move on your highness."

Rogue drew in a deep breath and let the woman lead her into a private dining area, willing herself keep up the act in order to save Remy and get of here.

Meanwhile, in the darkest corner of the dungeon...

The young Cajun was slumped against the corner of his cell, peering at the heavy granite blocks, family of rats, and skeleton of what he believed was his roommate, searching for a possible way of escape. Willing his pounding headache to go away, Remy stood up and stretched his legs, still hoping to find a weakness in the seemingly impenetrable walls. The only possible exit was a tiny grating that let in a few beams of moonlight; unfortunately, it was about ten feet above his head. Letting out a bitter chuckle in his isolated cell, he could shake his head in disbelief at his present predicament. "Unbelievable LeBeau," he muttered to himself, "y' get yourself trapped in a dream world and y're still a thief."

Resting his head against the cold wall, Remy let out a heavy sigh at the irony of his life. Remembering his last thoughts of Rogue being led up to palace, the people calling her a princess, her beautiful green gaze meeting his before his was dragged down to this hellhole. "Mon chere is a princess in a palace, and Remy is a lowly thief, oh the irony of your life LeBeau," he mumbled and once more sank to the ground in a current state of defeat.

"You know talking to yourself is one of the first signs of insanity," an echoing voice gruffly teased from above the Cajun.

Remy's head jerked up at the person's voice and he stared in doubt at the grating above him. A loud wrenching sound echoed throughout the entire dungeon as the grating was torn out of the wall and a smiling face poked through the hole. "What no thanks Remy?" the man joked and threw down a rope for him to grab, "how is it that you got caught anyway?"

Remy didn't hesitate to grab the rope and began climbing it to his mysterious savior who seemed to know him. "A girl was involved," Remy smoothly replied, hoping this general comment would bide well with the man as he hoisted himself through the tiny hole and into the cold moonlight outside the palace.

"Ah so you two finally got caught. It's to be expected, nothing lasts forever," the broad shouldered man shrugged.

Remy peered at the short, stocky, hairy man who had a ferocious air about him. This man reminded Remy of someone from Bayville but he just couldn't place it. The dark-haired man expertly placed the grating back over the hole before the two quickly darted into a nearby alley. "Y' knew about us?" Remy continued his bluff, hoping to gain as much information as possible.

"Of course I knew about you and the princess, it wasn't hard to figure out where you kept stealing off to every night."

"Mon dieu, those knight really hit Remy's head hard. Do y' know how long I've been sneaking off to see her?" Remy asked, not yet ready to believe that he and Rogue were actually real people in this world.

"Hell, I don't know," the man mumbled, "at least a month."

"Remy must see his chere tonight, where's her room?" he questioned.

"You can't be serious Remy, you were just in jail because of that girl."

"Mon ami, dis would be the perfect opportunity to see her. De knights all believe Remy is captured, their guard will be down," the Cajun reasoned with his "friend."

"What is it with this girl, you never acted like this before," the man muttered under his breath, running an agitated hand through his wild sideburnsbefore scratchinghis scalp,letting out a resounding sigh and added, "where do you think her room is? In the highest room, in the tallest tower."

"Merde," Remy cursed as he craned his neck to stare at her room, "so much for scaling de walls."

"You really did hit your head hard, let me show you the door you usually sneak through," the man offered, showing Remy to small side door, "I have no idea how you get to her room from here."

"Thanks, but Remy will be able to find it. Could you meet Remy here at dawn to get back… to camp?" he guessed, hoping he did indeed live at a camp.

"Sure thing, your highness," his friend replied, dipping into a mock bow, "say hi to the princess for me."

Remy nodded and quietly opened the door, preparing himself for a lot of stairs.

Rogue let out an annoyed sigh from her seat in front of her vanity. Her hair was still damp from her bath and was being brushed by her maidservant in silence. Her emerald gaze swept over her appearance in the mirror, refusing to believe that her hair was only one color; she had no makeup on, and was in a high-necked silk nightgown with a silk shift underneath. "Well miss, off to bed with you," Jeanine ordered, motioning to the huge canopy bed against the far side of the wall.

"Just out of curiosity Jeanine, why isn't my bed made," Rogue asked, motioning to the rumpled mass of covers and sheets.

"M' lady, you don't let us ever make your bed, you said it was useless to make something that you would sleep in that same night," the maid retorted and slowly began to lead Rogue to her bed.

The statement caused Rogue to smirk; at least she shared some similar ideals with her princess self. "I'll see myself to bed, your dismissed for tonight," Rogue ordered and walked away from the snippy maid, taking a seat at the window, in awe of the view.

"Very well miss," Jeanine mumbled and quickly exiting the room, leaving Rogue alone for the first time all day.

"About time," Rogue muttered under her breath in her southern twang as she listened to the maid's retreating footsteps down the stairs.

Rogue rushed across the room to the door, halting at her view in the mirror. Looking at the billowing, white mass that shrouded her body in disgust, she quickly yanked the nightgown off and dropped it on the floor, leaving her in a silk, knee length shift that's semi-transparent texture left little to the imagine. Slowly twirling around in front of the mirror, Rogue shyly smiled at her reflection, smoothing the shift over her flat stomach and curvy hips, satisfied at her appearance. 'If only ah could show off this figure in Bayville,' her mind sighed, flooded Rogue with images of a bustling social life back at the mansion, 'then again, with ma powers ah couldn't.'

Banishing any thoughts of Bayville from her mind, she began formulating her rescue plan. "Now ta find some real clothes and save Remy," Rogue muttered under her breath as she made her way to her closets.

"No need t' chere, Remy already be here," a muffled voice came from under the covers of her bed.

Jumping in surprise, Rogue spun around to watch Remy throw the covers off and sit up in her bed, sending her a playful smirk. "Remy loves de outfit chere," the Cajun smiled, sending a heated gaze over her thinly clad body.

Gasping in realization, Rogue hurriedly picked up the forgotten nightgown and held it in front of her body. "Chere, don't cover up, y' got nothing to be ashamed off," Remy chided, hopping from the bed, trench coat and all, to stand in front of her.

Raising her eyes to defiantly meet his amused gaze, Rogue lightly scolded, "Yah shouldn't have been peeping Gambit."

"Ah Chere, don't go calling Remy Gambit again, y' have Remy's sincerest apologies," he pleaded, removing his trench coat and draping it around her shoulders, "see, chere, Remy be a gentleman."

Huffing at his response, Rogue bit back a smile and turned away from him, quickly lowering her gaze to drop her nightgown and slip her arms into his coat, closing the flaps with the thick belt. Raising her gaze once more, she met Remy's gaze from the mirror where he had been watching her every move. "Remy LeBeau!" she yelled in anger before his hand quickly clamped over her mouth, snaking his arm around her waist and quickly pulled her against his body.

"Quiet chere, dere be guards at the bottom of de stairs," Remy whispered in her ear, tightening his hold on her and burying his nose into her sweet smelling hair.

Rogue watched him from the mirror and felt her body shiver when he whispered in her ear. 'Remember Rogue, you're angry at him, do not give in to…' her inner voice quieted when Remy pressed a soft kiss on the tip of her ear and began trailing a warm hand down the side of her body.

Rogue felt her body sag against his, her back molding perfectly to his front as she raised one hand to slide through his hair, bring his lips closer to her body, her lids fluttering closed. Smiling at her response, Remy kissed the side of her neck this time, working the belt of his coat open while his other hand traced small circles along her hip. The knot finally came undone, allowing Remy to slowly slip the coat off of her shoulders as he rained kisses along the bare skin. 'Mon dieu, de fille is wearing silk,' his mind chanted as one hands fisted in the material, slipping the coat off of her body and wrapping his own arms snuggly around her waist. "Chere, y' are beautiful, open y' eyes and look at y'self," Remy gently commanded, resting his head in the crook of her shoulder.

Rogue's lids slowly fluttered open and she gazed at her body, a small smile settling on her lips before raising her gaze to meet his own through the mirror. "Remy, Ah know Ah have a gorgeous body," she slyly boasted, turning around in his arms to gaze at him, "Ah knew yah couldn't resist me."

Placing a quick kiss on his lips, she slipped out of his arms and playfully distanced herself from him, using a large, red velvet settee as a buffer between them. Smirking at her game, Remy moved towards the sofa with a cat-like grace, unsuccessfully trying to reach her on the other side. "Remy," Rogue taunted, "aren't yah gonna tell me how yah got out of jail."

"But of course chere," he winked, once more trying to catch her, "apparently, Remy has friends here, his very own band of thieves, and they broke him out of jail and led Remy to y' chere. Speaking of which, Remy wants t' know about y' Yankee accent chere, Remy's jaw dropped when he heard y' speak."

"Oh that, Ah figured that's how Ah'd speak in this world, it went along with my story," she shrugged, narrowly avoiding his latest attempt to catch her.

"Story?" he questioned, pausing in his attempt to get her.

"I pretended that yah drugged me and that's why Ah kissed you," Rogue sheepishly shrugged and awaited his response with teasing eyes.

"Dere were no drugs involved," Remy grumbled under his breath before smirking, "passion and lust, but no drugs."

Smiling at his response, Rogue dodged his final attempt to grab her and watched his shoulders slump in defeat. Sighing, Remy collapsed onto the settee and softly asked, "How do y' like being a princess chere?"

Leaning over the sofa to gaze down at him, she grinned. "It's wonderful. How do yah like being a thief… oh wait, yah already were one," she laughed teasingly.

Mocking her laugh, Remy propped up on his elbows, and slowly rubbed his nose against hers, letting his lips linger close to her own, silently asking for a kiss. Smiling at his gentle manner, Rogue lightly pressed her lips against his own, not quite sure if she was doing this right.

Remy felt his heartbeat quicken as her innocent kisses tenderly teased him. Rising to a sitting position, he slowly slid a palm along her smooth, milky skin to gently grasp the nape of her neck and pull her closer. He gradually increased the pressure of their kisses, playfully nipping at her lower lip, savoring the sweetness.

Rogue never thought something so simple could feel so good. But as their kisses became more heated and his responses became more demanding, she didn't know what to do next. "Remy," she whispered, abruptly breaking away from the sweet kisses and shying away from his grasp, "what are we doing?"

"Well chere, most people would call it kissing," he smiled, maintaining a solid hold on her hand when she tried to turn away.

"Remy, yah don't understand," Rogue sighed, slowly making her way around the settee to sit beside him.

"Den explain it to me," he asked, pulling her into a gentle embrace.

"This morning Ah couldn't do this," she replied holding up their linked bare hands, bringing his palm against her cheek to rest against it, "and now Ah can touch yah."

"Chere, Remy understand dat we're taking dis too fast," he began.

"Yah got it all wrong Cajun, yah're moving too slow, only… Ah'm not sure what ta do. Believe me, if Ah knew what Ah was doing, we wouldn't be talking right now" Rogue whispered, refusing to meet his searching gaze.

A low laugh broke through the silence of the room, causing Rogue to glare at the chuckling Cajun. "Asshole," she gritted through her teeth and grabbed the nearest pillow, stuffing it over his grinning face.

"Chere," his rich voice muffled through the pillow, "Remy wasn't laughing at y'."

"Sure yah weren't Cajun, Ah get it, laugh at tha naïve, little girl," she muttered, briskly standing up and walking away from him.

"What about dose kisses we shared today, y' weren't very naïve then," Remy reasoned, lowering the pillow from his face.

"Ah made it up as Ah went along. And Ah wasn't myself today, Ah don't know how I kissed you, it was all very hazy," Rogue mumbled, leaning against the wall and gazing out the window.

"Remy admits that dere was some weird force between us earlier, and if dose kisses were spur of de moment, dat's fine with Remy, he enjoyed them," he stated, gazing at her moonlit profile.

"That doesn't excuse the laughter Cajun," Rogue reproached.

"Aw chere," he muttered, shoving the pillow off of him before rushing to her side. "Remy be laughing at his own dumb self, not y'. Listen to Remy chere," he ordered, tilting her face up to meet his gaze, "de entire time, Remy's telling himself 'Watch it LeBeau, one wrong move an y'll lose dis fille forever. So, Remy try not to push his luck and den y' give Remy de sweetest kisses he's ever gotten. Remy sees himself as de luckiest man alive to have gotten those. Y' see, Remy was hoping dat we could teach each other a thing or two."

"What could Ah possibly teach yah Cajun," Rogue sighed bitterly, holding back the tears she knew were threatening to spill.

"Well chere, for starters, y' could teach dis Cajun how y' get to smell so good. Cause every time Remy gets near y', y're scent drives him crazy," he whispered, dragging his stubbled jaw over her shoulder as he placed a soft kiss in the crook of her neck, inhaling her feminine scent.

Rogue felt a small smile break through her gloomy exterior as she let Remy's soothing words reassure her. "Or how y' have the sexiest curves," he sighed, running his hands over the sides of her arms, past her hips, lifting her off of the ground, pinning her against the wall, guiding her legs to lock around his hips, "mais, y' are still so light. And mon dieu, don't get Remy started on y' skin. It's so smooth, a tease t' touch."

Rogue softly laughed, her insecure tears turning to ones of joy at his words. "Let me get this straight Remy, yah want me ta teach you how ta smell like a girl, get a curvy, lightweight figure and have smooth skin?"

Remy placed a lingering kiss on her smooth collarbone before raising his gaze to meet her own, "Oui, do y' think y' can help Remy?"

"Ah'll try mah best," she smiled and lightly kissed the tip of his nose, "but Ah'm not sure you'll be too happy with tha results."

"Remy will take his chances," he smirked, slowly sliding her body back to the floor.

"Now then," Rogue whispered, "what are yah gonna wear ta bed cause Ah'm feeling kinda silly standing here in poor excuse for a dress and yah are still in you're fighting uniform."

"Are y' sleepy chere?" Remy questioned, sending a quick glance to the comfortable bed.

"Remy, Ah didn't say we were going ta be sleeping," Rogue brazenly smirked, sending a heated gaze over his body, dragging her fingers over his torso searching for the seam. "My my," she smiled, her fingers finding the hem of the tight shirt, "look what Ah found."

Remy closed his eyes in pleasure as he felt her soft palms slowly pull the shirt off of his body and teasingly stroked his bare chest. Rogue quickly discarded the shirt and ran her hands over his sinewy muscles, savoring the feeling of his bare skin. Remy's eyes snapped open when he felt the warmth of her hands leave his body. Catching her palm, he placed a kiss on it, grinning, "merci for de assistance chere, Remy couldn't have gotten that shirt off without y're help."

Smiling at him, Rogue slowly made her way towards the bed, adding more of a sway to her hips as she walked, causing the silk shift to ride up on her legs. Savoring his heated stare, she motioned for him to join her, stretching out in the middle her bed, beckoning, "Come join me Monsieur LeBeau, you're eager pupil is waiting."

Remy swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat, willing himself not to drool over this gorgeous woman. He forced his heavy limbs towards the bed, noticing the way the moonlight played off of her ivory skin and drew attention to her long, well-toned legs. He slowly sank onto the soft mattress, and unhurriedly made his way to her side. Rogue suddenly sat up leaned forward to capture his lips in a heated kiss. She quickly wrapped her slender arms around his neck, pulling her body closer to his. "Yah were moving too damn slow Cajun," Rogue explained in between kisses.

"Remy's apologies chere," he smirked against her lips, rolling on his back, dragging her body to rest on top of his.

Rogue's body sighed in delight at the feeling of his bare skin's warmth seeping through her thin shift. She vaguely felt his hands cradle her face and draw her closer and heard his groan of approval when she lightly nipped his lower lip. "Chere, do y' want to continue or stop here," Remy asked, breaking away from the kiss.

"Continue," she softly replied, trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach.

"Remy was hoping y'd say that," he breathed a sigh of relief and slowly moved her onto her back allowing him to stretch his lean body on top of hers, bracing his weight with his elbows, "if y' ever want t' stop just say so."

Nodding her head hastily, Rogue felt her body tense up in nervous anticipation. "Relax chere," he soothed, " keep y're mouth a little open when we next kiss."

Before Rogue could offer a retort, he placed a chaste kiss on her lips as his hands roamed over her body. As her body began to relax, Remy began to kiss her more roughly and smiled in approval when he felt her lips slightly open. His hand lightly glided alongside her breast, teasingly brushing across the taut peak, causing Rogue to arch against his body. Hearing her soft gasp of pleasure, he ran his thumb in a slow circle over the tight bud once more, slowly thrusting against her curvy form when she arched and slipping his tongue into her parted mouth.

Rogue's eyes widened in surprise; too scared to move in case he changed his mind and stopping kissing her. Her tense frame began to relax when she felt the tip of his tongue teasingly run over the upper contours of her mouth, causing a warm, heady feeling to spread throughout her body. His hands continued gently teasing, coaxing her body through the thin material. She froze when his tongue lightly pushed against her own, not sure how to respond. When he pushed again, Rogue softly pushed his tongue back, earning a smile from his lips as he began circling her tongue. Rogue recognized the game he was playing with her and followed his lead as she began to circle his tongue with her own. Grinning, Remy slowly pulled away from her tempting tongue and began to probe her lips, stretching the kiss into a teasingly slow pace as his thumb continued the circular motion around her taut peak. Rogue began gasping against his mouth, threading her fingers through his silky hair, forcing his lips down harder on her own, hooking one of her legs around his legs and arching against him again. Remy tore himself away from her tempting lips with a groan and buried his face in her shoulder, trying to slow his breathing and control the aching hardness between his legs.

"Remy?" Rogue questioned, confused by his sudden abandonment.

"Chere, we might have t' stop here," Remy whispered in ragged breaths as he rolled off of her luscious body.

"Why?"

"Cause Remy's finding it hard t' keep himself in control. It's probably for the best, Remy has to leave at dawn tomorrow," he sighed, glaring at the silk canopy above him, wishing he had better control over his body.

"Dawn is rather early, will yah come over tomorrow night?" Rogue questioned, draping one arm across his chest and intertwining a leg with his, teasingly resting it against his hardness.

Remy raised his eyebrow at her bold leg, regarding her coy smile as her fingers slyly traveled down the length of his torso, drawing light circles around his bellybutton before growing bold and continuing their descent. Remy caught her wandering hand and pushed it off of his body, sending her a warning look, "Do y' think dis is a game chere?"

Smirking at his obvious discomfort, Rogue propped up on her elbows brushed her nose against his, whispering a throaty, "oui," to his question and teasingly brushed her lips over his.

When he opened his lips to offer a snappy retort, Rogue swiftly straddled his stomach, placing a heated kiss on his open lips, daring to slip her tongue into his mouth, mimicking the same techniques he just showed her.

Remy's eyes widened open in shock at her boldness, slowly responding to her teasing kisses. Closing his eyes, he roughened their kisses, demanded more from her soft lips, lifting her yielding body to firmly straddle his hips. Rogue gasped when she felt the pressure of his hardness directly on her womanhood. "Dis is why we have t' stop chere. Y're not ready to take it dis far yet," Remy explained earnestly, gauging her reaction.

"Don't think yah know me so well Cajun, you have no idea what Ah can or cannot be ready for," Rogue retorted, sending him a heated glare.

"Y're right chere, Remy don't know y' very well… so why would y' want t' continue dis with Remy. Chere, not even two hours ago we were enemies, why d' sudden change?" he asked.

Rogue was floored; the Cajun had a point. 'Maybe Ah am taking things too fast,' her mind reasoned with her as she slowly slid off of Remy's body to lie by his side. Turning her confused emerald gaze to stare at Remy, she softly inquired, "Do yah still think Ah'm your enemy Remy?"

"Non (No)," he smiled, turning on his side to face her and asked, "are y' still going to fight with Remy?"

"Not unless yah deserve it," she teased and inched closer to his body.

Chuckling, Remy draped his arm over her waist and pulled her gently against his warm body before pulling the blankets over them and positioning his head comfortably on the pillows. "Sorry if Remy snores chere," he mumbled sleepily as he closed his lids.

Smiling, Rogue snuggled closer into Remy's arms and as her eyes slowly fluttered closed, she softly muttered, "Sorry if Ah drool on yah Swamp Rat."

Remy smirked at her reply before he drifted off to sleep, dreaming of a green-eyed angel that had somehow managed to worm her way into his heart.

A/N: I just love this chapter. Hopefully this will answer some of your questions and shed light on the "plot" of the story. I just love steamy Romy scenes, Wanda being a hardass, and Kitty's tricky dilemma of too many men in her life. Hmm, I betyou all can guess who my favorite characters are. On a more serious note, I decided to post this chapter earlier than expected because of the expected problems with login scheduled to happen on June 5th. Once more, thank you for the wonderful reviews!


	5. Chapter Five

Disclaimer: The X-Men aren't mine… unfortunately.

Chapter 5

Jean impatiently tapped her foot against the shiny, pearl tiled floor. It had been almost two hours since all of the injured mutants were brought into the lab. The six unconscious figures hadn't stirred from their deep sleep and made no noticeable signs of improvement. After numerous unsuccessful attempts to contact the professor, the redhead had run out of ideas. She didn't know what to do and was uncomfortable in a leadership position… that was Scott's job.

Jean turned her cool, green gaze to rest on the team leader and nearly jumped in surprise when he began to softly mutter under his breath. She slowly leaned closer to understand his slurred speech. Her eyes nearly popped out in surprise when Scott groaned Fred's name in pleasure. Jean let out a gasp with this newly acquired information; she always thought Scott could be gay… and this confession proved it. However, if word ever got out that she was attracted to a gay guy, her reputation would be ruined. Jean decided then and there that she would take Scott's secret desires to the grave with her. "Hey Red, did Summer's say anything," Lance's rough voice sharply brought her attention back to the remaining mutants in the lab.

"Nothing," she stuttered out guiltily, "it was all gibberish."

Lance let out a sigh of frustration and began pacing the med lab. He was tired of just waiting around for the adults to show up and save the day. He wanted to help his comrades… and maybe even some of the X-geeks; Kitty would like that. His relationship with Kitty had always confused him… they were complete opposites; maybe that's why he liked her. As Lance continued his inner turmoil, Piotr deep voice resonated throughout the room. "We must do something," his accented voice addressed the entire group, "time is wasting, we need to save dem."

Kitty's bright azure eyes lit up in a surprised wonder. She was thinking along the same lines but wasn't ready to voice her opinion quite yet. "I like totally agree with him," she piped up, sending the tall boy a shy smile, "we are wasting time, there has to be something we can do for them."

Lance felt his jaw slightly unhinge in shock. 'Shit,' he mentally muttered and shook his head in disbelief, 'if you had spoke up a little earlier Kitty would have been smiling at you… but no. Instead the Russian gets her gratitude… this bites.' "We can't do anything to help, the professor isn't here to tell us what to do," Jean exclaimed, a tad bit annoyed that others were trying to take away her recently appointed leadership position.

"We've been trained to do this Jean, I like think we'll be okay," Kitty defended the idea.

"Vhat is your plan Keety?" Kurt asked, clearly interested in a way to save his teammates.

"I'm not like, that far yet," she huffed, quickly racking her brain for a plan before turning to her newly acquired Russian friend, "any ideas?"

"I think our best option is to find the mutant dat put them in the trance and see if she knows how to call off her own power," he quietly voiced his opinion, imploringly staring into Kitty's eyes for some type of approval.

"What a like, smart plan," Kitty smiled, leaning towards the tall Russian.

"Well, even if that would work, we still won't be able to find her," Jean snidely remarked, crossing her arms and slouching against the wall.

"Oh give me a break Red, your telepath! Prove it and use your head… for once," Lance trailed off in annoyance, he really didn't know how Kitty could stand it here.

Jean's eyes widened in surprise before clenching her jaw in anger and raising her hands to her head to search for the mutant girl from the warehouse. It took her a few moments to hone in on Penny's mind… but she found her. Jean slumped against the wall, completely drained, she muttered, "She's in the basement of the warehouse… she made a home there."

"Well then, what are we like waiting for… let's go," Kitty cheered, and headed towards the door.

Piotr immediately followed her, he was prepared to offer any type of assistance to help his injured friend as well as spend as much time as possible with the young X-girl. "Vait, I'm coming!" Kurt beamed and ported over to Kitty's side.

"Wait, you can't leave me here all alone, I'll be the only X-Men," Jean protested.

"But Jean, zey'll need all ze help zey can get," Kurt argued, folding his arms across his chest.

"Don't worry about it, I'm going," Lance stated and confidently strode next to Kitty, standing in between her and Piotr.

"You see Jean, now it'll just be you and Toad, I think you can manage that," Kurt reassured the frantic redhead.

"NO! What if Pyro returns? Kurt, you have to stay here with me, that's a direct command… I'm in control here," Jean hysterically ordered.

"Why don't we all like just go," Kitty mediated between her team members.

"… Someone has to… guard the bodies…" Jean weakly offered, cursing herself for her lame excuse as she stubbornly sank into a chair by Scott's bed.

Not wanting to cause any further trouble, Kurt reluctantly agreed to stay at the mansion… he then quickly ported up to the kitchen; preparing to spend a whole night stuffing his face.

"Will three people, like be enough?" Kitty hesitantly asked, staring at the two boys accompanying her.

"You and me could take them out by ourselves Kitty Cat… I'll always protect you," Lance smugly answered, draping his arm around his ex's shoulders all the while sending a glare in Piotr's direction.

Snorting under her breath, Kitty shrugged out of his embrace and suspiciously glared at him, "Why the sudden change of heart?"

Lance flinched under her scrutiny and nonchalantly shrugged. He was never good at admitting his feelings, especially not with an audience. Kitty silently stood there, waiting for him to say something… anything. His silence unnerved her. The small girl let out a sigh and walked out of the room, she needed some air.

Lance clenched his jaw in annoyance as he felt Piotr's gaze rest on him. Lance sent one last glare at the tall man before stomping out of the room. Piotr watched the whole scene with interest. He had a feeling this mission would be very awkward.

The three mutants silently climbed into the X-van, Kitty slipped into the drivers seat. Lance let out a gulp and hurriedly fastened his seatbelt; he remembered Kitty's driving skills all too well. Piotr on the other hand, had no idea.

Never before in his life had Piotr been so scared. His large hands nervously clutched the dashboard of the van as Kitty swerved in and out of traffic at an alarmingly fast speed. The man fumbled to put his seatbelt on but it was too late and his large frame roughly banged against the door as Kitty made another dangerously fast turn.

She was pissed, in fact, Kitty was beyond pissed… she was livid with rage. What right did he have and try to get back into her life. She had just gotten over him; it wasn't fair. Kitty blinked back the tears threatening to fall; she hated to cry over boys. Rogue told her men are a waste of tears, and maybe she was right, but Kitty's a girl that falls in love hard and fast. And she fell in love with Lance and he broke her heart. Just the thought of him toying with her emotions boiled her blood even more and she pressed harder on the gas pedal.

Her mind barely registered Piotr's taunt figure next to her, she knew she was driving a tad too reckless, and was probably scaring this boy away. After all, he was the first boy to show her interest after Lance. Sighing, Kitty slowly eased her foot off of the gas pedal and brought the van to a slow stop in front of the warehouse. Sending a lopsided grin at the boy next to her quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and hopped out of the car. She couldn't let her mind dwell on her relationship problems, she had to concentrate on the mission; her friends' lives were at stake.

Lance didn't bother to hide his chuckle when Piotr fell out of the van in a shaky heap. He probably should have given the boy a warning, but this man was his competition, he didn't deserve any favors.

Piotr sent a cold glare at Lance's laugh. His gritted his teeth in anger and tried to keep his emotions under check. The small brunette's airy voice brought him out of his angry musings. "I'm like really sorry, are you okay?" Kitty sweetly asked, ignored Lance's abruptly ceased laughter as he watched the two with a critical eye.

"I am fine. Thank you," Piotr warmly smiled at the small girl, he didn't think he'd ever be able to fight against her if Magneto asked him.

Beaming at the tall boy, Kitty turned to approach the house, the mission had officially started.

-----

"Fred, come out come out where ever you are," Scott gleefully chanted as he stalked his prey.

"Keep your distance freak, I told you I don't swing that way," Fred screamed back, his beady eyes searched for a way to escape Scott's clutches.

"How do you know if you've never tried it," Scott reasoned, fervently wishing he had saved some of those yummy tarts for his love, maybe then he wouldn't be denying him.

"What about Jean, I thought you had a major crush on her," Fred yelled as his steps grew shorter and shorter, he was getting tired.

"It was all an act, I really am gay!" Scott proudly announced it to the world… or the entire carnival.

"But why me, you can't possibly be attracted to me… no one is," Fred sighed and collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

"Looks don't matter to me Fred my love," Scott reassured him, laying a cool palm on Fred's cheek, "well, they used to… but now I look at what people are like on the inside… Jean had nothing on the inside."

"But I'm evil… I hate you, the X-men, humans, I honestly want to destroy you," Fred admitted, not meeting Scott's frantic gaze.

"Are you purposely making this difficult for me, I'm trying to seduce you," Scott huffed in annoyance and using all his strength he pulled Fred to his feet.

"This is really sick and twisted, if I had my strength I would crush you," Fred explained.

"Yeah, well you don't. So stop denying your attraction to me, come on, lets find you some food and then we'll ride the tunnel of love," Scott bargained.

"Food," Fred drooled, his one-track mind ignoring everything else Scott had said.

Scott slowly led Fred past the boarded up fun house, not having the slightest idea that they weren't the only ones stuck in this bizarre, fantasy world.

-----

"Wanda wait," Pietro shouted and ran to catch up with his sister, "maybe we can help each other."

"I don't work well with others," Wanda sneered and pushed past him, angrily stomping down the hall, she wanted out of this "fun" house.

"Come on Wanda, lets give it a try," Pietro pleaded, grabbing her hands in a firm grip.

"Hands off," Wanda ordered, wrenching her hands from his grip, slightly uncomfortable with such close contact.

She was the Scarlet Witch who'd hex anyone that came too close. However, now with the loss of her powers, she felt helpless, in a way. And no one ever made to move to get close to her… well, except for Toad, but that didn't count. "All I'm saying is that we could unite temporarily to get out of here," Pietro reasoned, blocking her only exit.

"You do realize that after this, nothing changes. I will still hate you and will always fight against you," Wanda replied, roughly pushing him out of her way.

"I realize that," Pietro retorted, crossing his arms in indifference and leaning against the wall.

"Fine, then lets get out of here," Wanda ordered and set a brisk pace down the gloomy hallway.

"Any ideas," Pietro asked hopefully, "cause I can't think of anything."

"Why doesn't that surprise me," Wanda remarked dryly began putting pressure on the walls, "I think we should start searching for hidden passages. That last one saved our lives, maybe there's one out of here."

"Sounds like a plan sis," Pietro cheekily smiled and began testing the other walls.

"Don't call me sis," she growled, pinning him against the wall.

"Sure thing sis," Pietro grunted out from his pinned position.

Letting out an annoyed scream, Wanda angrily stalked down the hall, determined to leave her brother to whatever horrible fate might befall him. "Ah come on Wanda, don't be a spoil sport," he shouted after her, jogging to catch up.

He was pleasantly surprised to see she had stopped and waited for him. But upon joining her side, he realized she wasn't waiting for him. "Run," she softly muttered to her brother as she cautiously watched the demonic clown's shadow creep across the walls.

It seemed the clown was no longer in a physical shape, but could morph himself into a shadow and blend into any shaded area. The eerie, thin silhouette swiftly gained momentum and approach the siblings at an alarmingly fast rate.

"What the hell," Pietro mumbled before Wanda roughly grabbed his shirt collar and dragged him down the shadowy corridor, "now we're running away from a shadow demon. This is fucking ridiculous!"

"Just shut up and keep running," Wanda ordered and quickly dove in a brightly lit room, if she had to face this monster she wanted to be able to see it.

Upon entering the large, well-lit room, the door immediately shut by some unknown force. And no matter how hard Wanda or Pietro pulled on the handle they couldn't open it.

Pietro gazed at what seemed like a giant playroom. Toys and stuffed animals were scattered around the room, and the walls were lined with circus themed wallpaper. There were no other doors or windows… they were trapped.

Wanda frantically searched the room for any type of object she could use as a weapon. Grabbing a water gun and a building block she prepared for a fight. An unusual painting located in the farthest corner of the room, on the other hand, distracted Pietro from searching for weapons. He squinted up to get a better look at the intricate watercolor depicting a fairytale castle. The painting seemed surprisingly out of place in the whole carnival theme of the playroom.

Pietro was snapped out of his thoughts by his sister's urgent shouts to find a weapon. He paused his search when a soft cackling began to echo throughout the room. His knees began to shake as the laughter grew louder and although he couldn't see the clown, it sounded like he was right next to him. Pietro slowly made his way over to his sister's tense form. Even though he was scared shitless, he was determined to look out for his family.

Wanda's eyes widened in disbelief when the door swung open to reveal the disturbing clown with his demonic smile. The clown flashed his sharp, yellow teeth at the siblings and slammed the door shut. "Ready to have fun," it's high pitched voice resonated throughout the room.

"I hate clowns," Wanda gritted out through her teeth and raised her makeshift weapons in preparation to fight, "I really, really, really, fucking hate clowns."

"Then lets kick his ass," Pietro offered and clenched his hands into tight fists.

-----

Her hand slowly drifted to the empty spot next to her bed and she immediately sat up with a start. Her heart began hammering in her chest as a feeling of abandonment flooded her entire being. Rogue's jade eyes quickly swept the room and confirmed that the room was empty. "The damn Cajun left without saying goodbye," Rogue muttered under her breath, stringing a long list of curses to his name.

She spotted a playing card resting on the pillow he used the night before. "How touching," she bitterly sighed, "a calling card."

Rogue picked up the Queen of Hearts card and flipped it over to read in Remy's scrawled writing,

_Morning chere, you looked too peaceful when you slept, Remy didn't have the heart to wake you. Remy look forward to our lessons tonight._

A goofy grin suddenly spread across Rogue's lips as the thought of even more lessons brought a tirade of butterflies to her stomach. All bad thoughts about the missing Cajun disappeared as she gracefully leapt off the bed and did a giddy spin in front of her mirror, covering her mouth to stop the girly giggle from escaping. "Dear God, Ah'm turning into Kitty," Rogue smiled and nearly jumped in surprise when her maid, Jeanine, flung her door open.

Rogue discreetly hid the card in the palm of her hand as the maid rushed over to her side. "I'm so glad you're awake my lady. We have no time to waste, everything must be finished by tonight," the servant sighed, scurrying towards Rogue's wardrobe closets and yanking them open, searching for an appropriate gown.

"Why, what's happening tonight?" Rogue casually asked, quietly stowing the card in the pages of a book on her vanity.

"The ball of course, your highness," Jeanine tsked, whipping a long flowing dark green gown from the closet.

"Oh the ball… of course, what's the occasion?" Rogue questioned taking a seat in front of her vanity and began brushing her hair.

"Why, to announce your engagement to the Duke of Salem of course," Jeanine replied.

Rogue felt her fingers go numb and lost her grip on the brush, dropping it to the floor. "Engagement," she dryly whispered, fearing this bizarre dream world was about to take a turn for the worse.

Meanwhile…

Remy tried to hide his labored breaths as he kept up with the short hairy man in front of him. 'Mon dieu,' he thought to himself, 'how much further is dis camp?'

"Getting tired boss," the man questioned, his dark eyebrows arched inquisitively.

"Non," Remy evenly replied, now more determined than ever to keep up with his guide.

"Good, cause we still have a way to go," the man replied and quickened his pace.

Remy bit back a groan and struggled to keep up with his guide. Two miles later Remy felt like his lungs were about to burst. He smiled in relief when his guide slowed down to a stop outside of a thick grove of trees. He was led into a small campground littered with makeshift tents, campfires, and thieves. Remy felt his eyes widen in shock as he took in the camp. He had expected something more elaborate, maybe houses in the trees… like Robin Hood. His camp looked more like a slum than a fairytale camp. His entrance to the camp caused quite a stir amongst his fellow thieves who greeted him in a friendly manner. 'Looks like dey all like Remy here,' he smirked and waved to his band of thieves, before he was ushered into a large tent in the center of camp.

He seemed to be crashing an important meeting; although why his presence was needed he had no idea. "Glad you made it Remy," a dirty, toothless man clapped him on the back, "we were just going over the plan."

"How far did y' get?" he asked, his gaze traveling over the five ugly men crowding around him, wondering what type of mission this group was planning.

"While the engagement ball is going on, we will sneak into the royal treasury and steal enough to get ourselves settled for the rest of our lives. The guards won't be as alert, if they're even to be found at their posts. We already went over our positions and places, except for yours, where do you want to be?" the dirty man asked him.

"Engagement ball?" Remy slowly questioned, "who's getting engaged?"

The five men gazed at their leader in shock, how could he not know who was getting engaged. "You're going to have to excuse the boy fellows, he got hit pretty hard yesterday and apparently it knocked a couple things loose," Remy's guide smoothly replied.

"Well then you tell him Logan, we all remember what happened the last time we told him the news," another man replied, as the rest of the thieves began filing out of the tent.

Remy felt a panicky feeling start to grow in his stomach as Logan's somber eyes turned to him. "It's the princess Remy," Logan began, getting straight to the point, "she's engaged to some Duke who's old enough to be her father. I thought you knew last night was your last night together?"

"Engaged… mon chere, unbelievable," Remy muttered, dropping his head into his hands.

"Well, I must admit, you're taking the news this time a lot better than before. Last time you tore down an entire tent in frustration," Logan admitted, awkwardly patting Remy's slumped back.

"That's cause, mon amie, Remy not frustrated, he has a plan," Remy explained, raising his steadfast stare to his friend's face.

"Ah shit, I was afraid something like this was going to happen," Logan admitted, slumping to a sitting position next to Remy and raising a flask of liquor to his lips.

"Remy will be causing a distraction in the ballroom with his chere while you and the boys make an easy steal," Remy started as he abruptly stood up and began to pace throughout the tent.

"What type of distraction?" Logan slowly asked, afraid of the answer he was going to receive.

"Remy gonna kidnap her again, with a whole ballroom of witnesses," he smirked as his eyes darkened dangerously; he wasn't going to let anything happen to his Rogue.

The ballroom was packed, every inch of space was taken up by nobles from all across the land. The theme for this dance was a masquerade, forcing all to hide their faces behind the masks of their choosing. Elegantly dressed couples waltzed around the center of the room. An elaborate symphony began playing the royal entrance song, causing a general hush to descend amongst the crowd as the main door was opened for the royal family. The royals were the only exception to the masquerade; they weren't required to hide their features since their crowns gave them away. The King made a grand entrance into the ballroom, an ornamented crown rested on his head, proudly displaying his status in society. However, the attention of the court was not on the king, but was focused on the young woman at his side. An elegant dark green gown molded to her upper torso like a second skin, the color bringing out her vivid emerald eyes. The thin sleeves of the gown accented her slender arms and ended in wide cuff, causing them to gracefully rest against her body. The soft silk-like material hugged her breasts, swooping into a teasing arc to show hints of her cleavage. The back of the dress draped across her entire lower back, baring her smooth, pale back to the crowd's eyes. The dress flowed out from her hips, accented their pleasant curves. And to top it all off, a small, sparkling crown rested on top of her swept up hair, baring her swanlike neck.

Rogue felt their eyes and it took all of her willpower not to turn around and run. The chant, 'Ah hate dresses, ah hate dresses,' repeated over and over in her mind. Rogue was escorted by the king to the throne and gracefully sunk into her ordained chair. Her jade eyes swept through the occupants of the ballroom, she anxiously wondered if Remy had heard the news and snuck into the ball… or what if he hadn't and was waiting for her up in her room. The mere thought of not seeing him, caused her to get a fidgety and she wondered why his absence was having such an effect on her. It was at that moment that she realized she truly liked Remy; it was no longer a simple crush or even just lust, she simply liked Remy. Her thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of an old, portly man in her line of vision. "Ah, my dear Duke of Salem, welcome," the king warmly greeted the man in front of her.

Rogue felt a shudder of disgust course through her body as the man's beady eyes bore into her chest through the darkly colored mask he wore. The fat, little man deeply bowed in front of her and grasped her hand, placing a wet kiss on it. Rogue grimaced and snatched her hand back; glaring at the man while wiping the salvia off her hand with the handkerchief her assistant offered her.

The king saw her rude actions and began making profuse apologies to the Duke. "It's alright your Majesty," the Duke of Salem eerily smiled as his lecherous gaze returned to Rogue's glaring form, "I like a woman with passion."

"Why don't you dance with the Duke darling," the king prompted, sending a meaningful look at Rogue.

"I really don't care to dance with him father, to be frank, he disgusts me," Rogue tartly replied in her Yankee accent, crossing her arms in defiance.

The king bristled at her reply and leaned over to whisper in her ear, "You will dance with the Duke, you're engaged to him rather you like him or not. Dance with him know or else."

"Or else what," Rogue challenged back, curling her fingers into fists.

"You need to be firm with young girls," the Duke snottily replied, roughly grabbing Rogue's arm and dragging her onto the dance floor.

Rogue angrily swung a punch at him and was faintly surprised that he avoided her accurate aim. She hid the wince of pain he was causing her as his thick fingers dug painfully into her skin. The Duke pulled her into the waltzing circle and roughly placed one hand around her waist while the other hand gripped her right hand painfully, keeping her at a respectful distance before leading her into the waltz. "Get your hands off of me," Rogue demanded and purposely began digging her heels onto his feet with every dance step they took.

"My dear princess," the duke snarled, his rank smelling breath nauseated her as he leaned in close, "you remind me of my late wife. She too had passion and defied me, however, her will was soon broken after a few weeks into our marriage, I do not doubt you will be the same."

She was about to shoot back a retort when a strange, pleasant sensation traveled down her spine. She didn't know how to explain it, but she just knew Remy was here, watching her. She needed to get away from the Duke, time to put her nonexistent acting skills to the test.

The last notes of the dance slowed to a stop and Rogue forced the anger out of her eyes, bowing her head meekly in front of the Duke. "I'm truly sorry for being so cross with you before sir. You intimidated me," Rogue began, innocently pleading at the Duke with her eyes, she carefully masked her smirk as a smug smile fluttered across his pudgy face before continuing, "I would like to start anew, could you please get me some wine my dear fiancé."

"I'm glad to see you're finally accepted your fate my pet," the Duke chuckled into her face, pressing a quick kiss to her lips, "I will gladly get you a refreshment my lady."

Rogue watched his retreating form and discreetly began wiping his disgusting kiss off of her lips. Her jade eyes quickly scanned the room for Remy; she knew he was here. Rogue nearly jumped in surprise when a warm hand rested against her lower bare back, gently tracing his fingers against her spine. A small smile spread across her lush lips as she slowly turned around to meet the amused stare of Remy through a simple black mask that only covered his eyes. His lean fingers gently reached for her hand, raising it to his lips and placed a soft kiss across her knuckles. Rogue felt her knees slightly tremble as she imagined him kissing other places than her hand with that type of kiss. "Would d' Lady like t' dance," Remy whispered, gesturing to the dance floor.

"As long as its with you Sugah," Rogue whispered, letting her Southern accent creep back into her words.

Remy grinned at her and led her into the middle of the dance floor. Ignoring the respectful distance the other couples demonstrated, Remy pulled her into a close embrace resting his hand against the small of her back and slowly intertwining their fingers as he led her into a dance.

Rogue let out a soft sigh of pleasure as she relaxed into his embrace and let him lead her around the dance floor. "Wait a minute, how do yah know how ta waltz?" Rogue hissed in surprise.

"How do y' know how t' waltz chere?" Remy responded, grinning wickedly and pulling her body flush against his, teasing her with brief brushes against his lean, muscular body, "Remy just be going wit de flow, he merely assumed he knew how t' dance in dis dream."

Rogue let out a light laugh in surprise at his sincerity, she should have known. Remy felt his pulse increase as her laughter washed over him. He had never heard her laugh like this before; it was so carefree and happy, he only hoped he'd always be able to make her laugh like that. "Remy must be honest wit y' chere, his fellow thieves are robbing y' daddy's treasury at dis very moment," Remy smirked and proceeded to twirl her in his arms.

Rogue let out another laugh at his comment as she once more twirled into his comforting embrace. "So Ah guess we're the distraction," she smirked, leaning her body even closer to him.

'Actually chere, de real distraction is when we leave," Remy began and smirked at her confused look, "y' see chere, Remy be kidnapping y'… again."

Smiling, Rogue threw her arms around him in a tight hug as the song ended; she was hoping he had some type of plan to get her out of here. "I must admit my pet, you're never that happy around me," a sniveling voice angrily spat from behind her.

Rogue immediately stiffened and slowly turned around to face her fiancé. "You never gave me any reason to be happy," she retorted angrily and went back towards the dance floor with Remy as another song started.

The Duke angrily made a grab for her arm but was intercepted when Remy stepped in front of him. "Hands off homme," he muttered threateningly, glaring at the pudgy man in front of him.

"How dare you," the Duke sputtered in anger, "that's my fiancée you're dancing with."

"Dat may be homme, but she be wit me now," he darkly whispered, tapping a hidden dagger against the Duke's crotch in warning, "don't bother us."

The Duke nervously gulped and took cautious steps away from them. Remy nonchalantly slid the weapon back up his sleeve as he turned towards Rogue and pulled her into an even tighter embrace. "Remy, sugah…are yah okay?" Rogue worriedly asked as he strong arms possessively clamped around her.

"Remy felt like killin' dat man when he kissed y'," Remy admitted, his dark eyes watching the Duke make his way to the throne.

"Why Remy, were yah getting jealous over little ole' meh?" Rogue sweetly replied, exaggerating by batting her eyes up at him.

Remy let out a small laugh at her antics and brought his lips close to her ear. "Look around y' chere, every single man here wants y," Remy darkly whispered as he thumb slowly traveled over her smooth back.

Rogue raised her eyes to glance at the other masked men in the ballroom, surprised to see some of them shooting lustful glances in her direction. She nervously gulped and pressed closer to Remy. "Dey want t' know what it feels like t' kiss you," he continued, playfully brushing his lips against hers, smirking when she tried to kiss him back.

Rogue continued glancing around her, realizing that her and Remy were the center of attention, causing some couples to stop dancing and stare as they became more intimate on the dance floor. She didn't notice when Remy spun her around once more, only stopping midway and guided her back to rest against his chest. "What it's like t' taste y'," he whispered in her ear, gently nipping at her lobe.

"Remy," she began warningly as heated blush spread over her face as the king quickly stood up from his throne after sharing a few words with the Duke and proceeded to watch her actions.

"What kind of noise y' make when y're in pleasure," he smugly stated, pressing a heated kiss against the soft column of her neck.

Rogue bit back the moan threatening to escape and watched with wide eyes as the king and his guards began making his way towards them.

"But dey will never know, cause you're mine," he whispered in her ear, wrapping his arms tightly around her hips and pulling her flush against his body.

Rogue felt a warmth settle over her stomach, quenching the butterflies threatening to burst as this new type of heady sensation filled her. She felt strong, powerful, sexy… she felt like a woman who was loved. "Remy, is this part of the distraction?" she questioned, softly tugging out of his embrace and turning around to face him.

"Maybe," he grinned, stepping closer to her in order to shorten the distance between their bodies.

"Good, cause it's working. Ah'm very distracted," Rogue grinned seductively and watched him under hooded lids as she roughly pulled his hips against her own and smugly smiled at him when she felt his arousal pressing against her.

"Mon dieu chere," Remy murmured, clenching his jaw in frustration, "lets get out of here, we have some business t' take care of."

"Not without a distraction," she smirked and lifted the mask from his face unveiling his face to the gathering audience, causing shocked gasps from the crowd who recognized the thief, "yah need ta drag me out of here."

Smirking at her, he quickly revealed his dagger and yanked her roughly against his body, turning her so they both faced her approaching father. "Remy always wondered if y' liked it rough chere," he whispered darkly in her ear as he gently pressed the knife against her pale throat.

"Unhand my daughter at once thief," the king demanded.

"Non," Remy smirked and began backing away from the crowd as he headed to the balcony.

Rogue began to put up a "struggle" against his hold as he dragged her. Her struggles ceased when his rough palm slid across her breasts to pull her even tighter against his body. Rogue gasped in astonishment when he playfully pinched her nipple and chuckled in her ear. She tried to bite back the smile threatening to burst at his antics as they stepped onto the balcony. "Jump chere," Remy commanded motioning to the moat below.

"Are yah insane," Rogue screeched and looked up in panic as the king, the Duke, and the guards all crowded onto the balcony to stop them.

Sighing at her reluctance, he quickly grabbed her hand and yanked her over the balcony with him. The couple gained momentum during their fall, the wind whipped roughly against their faces. Rogue let out a high-pitched scream as the moat got closer and closer, her scream faintly sounded along the lines of "Remy LeBeau Ah'm gonna kill you."

The water was cold, extremely cold. Rogue let out a gasp of air when she broke the surface and muttered a curse under her breath when she realized the Cajun was already out of the water. She dragged her exhausted body out of the moat, collapsing in an ungraceful heap upon the grass. Her gown was soaked, she had lost her crown, her make up had smeared and her hair was in a knotted mess. She no longer felt beautiful and it was all Remy's fault, some plan...

She pushed herself to a standing position as Remy led a horse over to her stationary figure. "Remy tied de horse up over by de bridge for easy access…" he began but his words faltered when he saw the livid expression on her face.

Rogue let out what strangely sounded like a growl Wolverine would make and lunged at the boy. She roughly flipped him onto the ground, pinning him with her muddy heels. "Yah threw meh off of a balcony," she angrily spat.

"Dere was a moat," Remy replied.

"Ah hate water," she hissed, pressing her boot against his throat.

"And Remy hate scary guards with swords," he retorted in anger.

"Yah didn't know how deep the water was!" she shouted as her body shook with rage.

"Remy checked dat to make sure it was safe," he bellowed back, pushing her boot off of him and jumping to his feet.

"Yah left me in the moat!" she screamed.

"Remy needed t' get de horse!" he screamed back.

"Yah care more for the horse than mah well-being?" Rogue angrily questioned.

Remy let out a groan of disbelief and quickly hooked his hands behind her neck and pulling her into a heated kiss. Rogue let out a moan of satisfaction against his lips, running her hands through his hair to pull his head even closer to her own. Remy abruptly broke away from the kiss and pulled her towards the horse. "As much as Remy enjoys fighting wit y' chere, we have t' leave before de guards come," he explained and gracefully pulled himself onto the horse.

He held out his hand to pull her onto the horse in the space in front of him but faltered mid-pull and slowly lowered her back to the ground. "What are yah doing?" Rogue demanded, placing her hands against her hips.

"Remy just realized, he wouldn't be able t' last de ride with dat tempting bottom of yours bouncing up and down on him. Y're riding behind Remy," he ordered and once more pulled her onto the horse, only this time, in the spot behind him.

Remy clicked the reigns and sent the horse into a steady gallop away from the palace. "Don't yah think ah can tempt yah from this position Cajun?" Rogue slyly questioned, pulling her body flush against his back, as her hands toyed with the waistband of his pants, her legs slowly rubbing against his own.

"LeBeau," he muttered to himself as he felt her soft lips tease his neck with slow kisses, "y've created a monster."

A/N: Another chapter up and posted, thanks again for the great reviews!


	6. Chapter Six

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men, Marvel does… damn them…

Chapter 6

Kitty took a deep breath to calm her nerves and silently phased through the front door. Her clear blue eyes surveyed the entire warehouse as a sense of déjà vu settled over her. Determining that the coast was clear, she quietly unlocked the front doors and let the boys in.

Upon entering the room, Lance immediately searched for a door that would lead to the basement, he had decided to accept Jean's information. He needed to get his teammates back; he didn't think he could last living with Toad all by himself.

Piotr was the first to spot the door partially hidden by crates. He quietly approached the door and cracked it open to spot a flight of stairs leading to a lower level. He raised his hand to motion to the others that he found the location.

Lance clenched his jaw in anger as Piotr once more beat him to the chase, he hated losing and if he didn't up his game, he would lose Kitty forever.

Kitty wordlessly slipped in between the two boys as they crept down the stairs. In front of her was Piotr, strong, silent, polite, a perfect gentleman. And behind her was Lance, the rebel who pretended to be tough when he was really a softie on the inside. She bit the inside of her cheek so as not to sigh out loud in frustration. It wasn't fair that this choice was presented to her, she still had no idea who to choose. Although her mind told her Piotr would be safer and that he'd never hurt her, Kitty's heart pulled for Lance whose passion always seemed to consume her. Reminding herself that this was not the time to be preoccupied with such troubling thoughts, she held her breath as they reached the bottom of the stairs and Piotr gradually opened the door.

The door opened to reveal a dark, dreary room devoid of all warmth. Kitty's eyes widened in shock when she saw the curled up figure of the young girl shivering in the corner of the room. The young child raised her eyes to stare at them in fright before she used her mutation to become invisible. Lance quickly slammed the door shut and Piotr metaled up in his form. Kitty stared at the two boys in disbelief, when Lance raised his hand to begin shaking the ground Kitty let out a loud screech, "What the hell is the matter with you two? She's just a child."

Both boys looked at her guilty and began toeing the ground in embarrassment. Lance seemed to want to say something back, but kept his mouth closed at Kitty's angry look. "Get out, both of you," Kitty sternly ordered and pointed to the door.

"You can't be serious," Lance muttered in disbelief as he was pushed out of the door with the Russian.

"Now you two stay out here," Kitty commanded, "and play nice."

Kitty let out a sigh of relief as the door closed and she timidly walked back into the center of the room, praying that the girl didn't sneak away. "Hi," Kitty began cheerfully, staring at the empty space in front of her, "my name's Kitty Pryde, we've already met… sort of, you see, I was with a group of friends that came to meet you today. Although, I don't think we made the right first impression, we all acted immature and frightened you away. I'm not here to hurt you, I just want to talk."

Kitty paused in her speech, gazing at the empty space around her. "I have powers like you too," she confided, phasing her hand through the solid metal pole to her right, "it took me like forever to gain control over my powers, and in fact, I still don't have them completely under control. But I go to this school, a school for mutants, and they helped me control my powers. They could help you too."

The young girl shyly appeared in front of Kitty, staring up at her suspiciously. "How do I know you're not lying to me?" the young girl questioned, maintaining a safe distance between herself and the stranger.

"You're just going to have to trust me," Kitty responded, holding out her hand to the girl, "I'm Kitty."

The girl hesitated once more, before firmly grasping her hand and replied, "I'm Penny."

"So Penny what are your powers? I already showed you I can phase through solid objects," Kitty smiled and comfortably sat down on an empty crate across from Penny.

"Well," the girl giggled, "I don't really know… they just keep growing. At first I could only disappear, and that was pretty cool. Then I realize I could see through solid objects… like walls and stuff. Those two boys that came with you are really close to the door, I think they're eavesdropping."

Kitty smirked when she heard a loud noise thump against the wall followed by a string of colorful curses in Lance's voice. "But what about that bright glow you produced today, do you know what that power is?" Kitty pressured on, watching the girl with hopeful eyes.

Penny lowered her eyes meekly and started twirling her thumbs anxiously. "Well," she began timidly, "it was because of that power that I left home. I think that when I get angry, I accidentally put people to sleep. I did that to my foster mother. But I woke her up right away… it was an accident."

Kitty rushed over to the girl's side and swooped her into a tight hug. "I'm sure it was an accident," she whispered, soothing the young girl, "then what happened?"

"She called me a freak and threatened to turn me over to the authorities… so I ran away. I've been hiding here for about a week now," Penny sniffed as tears slowly rolled down her face.

"Don't cry," Kitty hushed her, wiping her eyes with the pads of her thumbs, "I don't think you're a freak. Do you think I'm a freak?"

"No, you're really nice," the girl admitted, raising her wide amber eyes to meet Kitty's searching gaze.

"Then do you trust me enough to come back to the school I live at because my friends need your help, and only you can help them. Will you do that for me?" Kitty implored the young child in her embrace.

Penny quickly nodded her head in acceptance and grabbed Kitty's hand as they made their way to the exit. "Out of the way boys," Kitty warned as they opened the door to find the two guys silently glaring at each other.

Both guys smiled sheepishly at the two girls as they made their way past them and up the stairs. Kitty led Penny to the backseat and carefully buckled the young child in before climbing into the driver's seat herself. "Um Kitty, are you sure you're the one who should be driving," Lance hesitantly asked his former girlfriend.

Kitty shot him a glare as she started the ignition and slowly drove out of the parking lot with her carload of people. Piotr had never seen anyone drive so cautiously in his life. It was a welcome change from her previous driving skills. In no time, the van pulled up in front of the mansion and the four stepped out of the van. "Now Penny, my friends are sleeping and I need you to wake them up for me," Kitty explained to the young girl as she led her through the mansion.

"You live here?" the girl asked in awe, staring at the fine furnishings and the large rooms.

"You could too," Kitty reminded the young girl and slowly led her into the med lab.

Penny's eyes widened in shock when she saw the six immobile figures on the bed. She didn't realize she had hurt so many people. She hurriedly ran over to the closest pair near her, a young man with red sunglasses and a large man in overalls. She held her tiny hands over their heads, closed her eyes, and concentrated.

-----

Scott gleefully pushed Fred's large frame into the swan boat, he had successfully distracted the large boy with enough food to trick him into riding this attraction. Scott quickly pushed the button to start the ride and sprinted into the boat, cuddling close to Fred. "Scott, I already told you, I'm not gay… stop trying to get in my pants," Fred shouted as he squirmed away from Scott's tight hold.

"Me thinks he doth protest too much," Scott grinned as the boat slowly glided into the dark Tunnel of Love.

Fred continued to squirm out of Scott's hold until he finally let out a frustrated shout and placed his hands over Scott's skull, praying to god that he had enough strength left in him to squish Scott. A warm tingling sensation settled in Fred's fingertips as he uncontrollably began to apply even more pressure to Scott's skull. Fred quickly withdrew his hands in shock and examined his hands in awe. He no longer felt drained, in fact he felt strong, very strong in fact. Fred gripped the side of the boat and neatly ripped the wooden wing off of the swan boat they were riding.

Scott, meanwhile, was completely obliviously to Fred's discovery and had leaned over to steal a kiss when a sharp pain pricked his eyes, causing him to shut them in pain. He opened his mouth in a silent scream and slapped his hands over his eyes. Fred nervously moved to the side of the boat, scared shitless. Scott slowly lowered his hands and opened his eyes. His orbs glowed an eerie red as they pulsated in power. The two boys let out a loud scream when the red from his eyes unleashed in the tunnel. As the two boys blacked out, a surprising warmth settled over their bodies and it felt like they were being lifted…

-----

The towering clown lunged at Wanda, who at his assault, let out a loud scream and chucked the building block she was holding at its head, causing the clown to get off course and crash into a pile of blocks directly to her right.

Wanda tried to steady her shaking limbs as she held the water gun in front of her. She really hated clowns and this one scared the shit out of her. The clown slowly emerged from the pile of blocks and once more began its attack on Wanda. The young girl immediately began firing her water gun at the clown, who surprisingly stopped at her attack. The clown looked down at its now wet costume in disbelief before raising its bloodshot eyes to stare at her in humor. "Tell me child," it cackled at her, grinning at her trembling figure, "is that water suppose to stop me?"

Wanda speechlessly began backing away as her eyes searched the room for the next available weapon. Her hands flew behind her body, searching for something to throw at it. Instead of a solid object, cooling hands slid into hers, pulling her into a tight, comforting hug. She raised her wide lavender eyes to meet the caring azure gaze of her brother. "Don't worry sis, I'll protect you," he forced a smug face onto his visage, although his wavering eyes gave away his true thoughts.

Pietro quickly placed his sister behind him and grabbed a plastic bat from the floor. Taking in a deep breath, he raised the bat and charged at the clown running as fast as he could… though in his opinion, the speed he was running at was slower than a snail. As he neared closer to the crazed clown, an odd tingling sensation traveled throughout his legs, triggering his mutation and adding real speed to his sprint. Pietro let out a shout of joy and charged at the unsuspecting clown, running quick circles around the dazed creature, repeatedly smacking it over the head with the bat. He was about to encourage his sister to join in on the fun, when the clown quickly stuck his foot out, successfully tripping Pietro, causing the young boy to crash into the wall.

While he tried to regain focus, the clown seized Pietro by the neck and tightened his grip, cutting off the boy's air supply as he strangled him. "Get off of my brother," Wanda ordered, hexing all of the toys in the room and sending them at the clown.

The clown's eyes widened in fear as he was pummeled into a nearby corner and knocked unconscious by the hard impact against the wall. Wanda smirked and hexed the toy trunk onto the immobile clown, locking the crazed creature within. She hurried to her brother's side and helped him to his feet, unconsciously brushing the dirt off of his shoulders. The siblings smiled at each other, each happy to be alive and happy to have finally resolved the tension between them. They felt a warm feeling wrap around their bodies and were lifted into the air as they both simultaneously lost consciousness.

-----

Remy slowed the horse to a stop at an enclosed glade when the couple had traveled a while throughout the forest. Rogue had at this time given up seducing Remy into stopping the horse and fell asleep against him when he threatened to turn the horse around and head back to the castle. "Chere, wake up," he whispered over his shoulder, slightly nudging her awake with his back.

Rogue gradually opened her eyes blearily and wiped the thin line of drool off of her chin with the palm of her hand. She then stared at her now drool covered hand, clearly confused, before wiping it on the back of Remy's coat. Remy watched all of this with an amused grin, "Chere, its at moments like dis when Remy realizes why he's so attracted to y'."

Yawning, Rogue muttered a teasing, "Ah know," and motioned for him to help her off the horse.

"What is dis, de Rogue asking for assistance," Remy mocked as he slid off the horse and turned to wrap his hands around her waist, gently lowering her to the ground.

"But in this dream I'm not just Rogue sugah, Ah'm a princess," she smirked and placed a light kiss against his lips, leaning into his touch.

Chuckling at her response, Remy slowly slid his hands up her arms teasingly before leaning down to capture her lips with his own. Rogue winced against his mouth when he accidentally brushed against the sore spot on her arm.

Remy immediately broke away from the kiss, looking at her questioningly before gently raising her arm and pushing her sleeve back to reveal five large, finger sized bruises marring her pale skin. Rogue glanced at his line on vision and shrugged out of his hold, "It's nothing Remy, the Duke thought he could prove his manliness by squeezing my arm. Ah'm fine, the bruises will heal," Rogue reassured him, reaching to tug the sleeve back down.

Remy halted her motions and raised her arm to his lips, placing a light kiss against her bruise, clenching his jaw in anger. He had no idea the Duke had hurt her in any way; if he had he would have killed him on the spot. "Ladies should never be treated dis way," Remy muttered against her soft skin, carefully covering the bruises with her sleeve, and raising his angry eyes to meet her worried gaze, "if I see that man again, I will kill him."

Rogue felt her heart momentarily stop for two reasons. One, she had never heard Remy ever use "I" in a sentence before, and the fact that he cared so much for her well-being brought a contented smile to her face. And secondly, it was at this moment that his irises once more rekindled to their original crimson color as the whites of his clouded into darkness once more. "Remy," she smiled, caressing the side of his face, "you're eyes have finally gone back to normal."

"Really," he grinned, pulling her closer to him, "Remy takes it his chere enjoys his eyes den."

"Remy guesses right," she mocked his manner of speech, ignoring a sense on dread that flooded her senses.

Remy smiled down at the young girl in front of him, running his fingers through her tangled strands of silky hair. Wondering to himself how it was possible that he fell for her as fast as he did. His eyes widened in shock when the two familiar white streaks magically blended into her chestnut locks. "Chere," he murmured holding her now white streak in front of her eyes to see.

"Oh no," Rogue whispered, jerking out of his embrace and pulling her dress to cover as much as her skin as possible.

"Rogue," he began, stepping forward to pull her shaking form in his embrace, draping his jacket over her bare shoulders.

Rogue quickly hid her bare arms and hands within the coat pockets and once more began pulling out of his embrace. "Dammit Rogue," Remy snapped, grasping onto his jacket to haul her back.

The jacket suddenly flashed a bright, glowing red as Remy unconsciously started to charge it before quickly un-charging it, all of his mutations had officially returned… which meant it was only a matter of time before the same happened to Rogue. "Enjoy this chere, before it goes away," Remy ordered, grasping her bare hands within his own, holding onto to them tightly, running his fingers over hers in a soothing manner.

"No," she began and tried to tug out of his firm grip, but somehow only managed to get pulled closer to him.

Remy reached out and leaned his bare forehead against hers, framing her beautiful face with his hands. "Ah don't want ta hurt yah," Rogue whispered against his skin as a silent tear rolled down her cheek.

"Y' could never hurt Remy," he reassured her, pressing a soft kiss against her forehead, "unless of course, y' knee him in de balls again. Den he'll take that personally."

Rogue found herself chuckling despite the approaching dire events. She tenderly reached up and caressed his face with her bare fingers one last time, memorizing the texture and feel of his firm skin. "Rogue," Remy murmured softly, leaning down once more to softly kiss her tempting lips.

She sighed softly against his lips, at first ignoring the tugging sensation associated with her powers. It wasn't until she heard his breath catch in his throat that she opened her eyes. Rogue jerked back from the kiss in shock and leaned forward to catch Remy before he collapsed to the ground. She bit her bottom lip to stop the tears from starting and stared accusingly at her poisonous skin. A strange warm feeling began to settle over her body as she was suddenly lifted into the air. Her eyelids slowly closed as she made her way out of the dream and back into the real world.

A/N: First off, the reviews have been amazing. It's so nice that people actually get and understand my story and you're leaving such supporting and detailed reviews. I love it, thank you. Now to clear a few things up, I know the whole Fred/ Scott thing is extremely bizarre and well, just plain sick. But its all in good fun, so I hope it makes you smile. I know I do when I think of skinny Scott trying to jump not so skinny Fred.

And as for this chapter, I know, I didn't want them to get their powers back yet, but it really adds to the whole story and stresses the strong relationship between Rogue and Gambit. I kinda lean more towards the comics in my stories and it makes the banter so much more amusing. And just wait for the new Kitty scenes... who will she chose... and don't forget about that surprise character! Don't you just wish there was a real guy like Gambit out there... although I've been told every cartoon character has been inspired by a real person... so ladies, there's still hope.


	7. Chapter Seven

Disclaimer: For the last time dammit, I don't own the X-Men!

Chapter 7

Rogue immediately jerked awake into a sitting position on the starched linen sheets. Her eyes winced in protest over the bright lights as her vision gradually adjusted to the room. She quickly took in the med lab before focusing her attention on its occupants. She stiffened in shock upon realizing that the Brotherhood and Acolytes were there as well.

Jean and Scott were in the far corner of the room; the redhead was holding a wet cloth to his forehead. Kurt was busy chatting with Pyro as they discussed their favorite doughnuts. The Blob, Toad, Pietro and Wanda were all surprisingly standing together and chatting amiably. Lance stood a little off to the side, glaring at Piotr who was leaning against the doorframe.

Her gaze dropped to her gloved hands and was shocked to see a slender bare hand linked to hers. Rogue raised her gaze to Kitty's bright blue eyes and smiled, squeezing her hand in affection. She then glanced to her right to see Remy's sleeping figure stretched out onto the bed next to her. She guiltily lowered her gaze, knowing why Remy wasn't waking up with the rest of them. Rogue spotted a young girl crying next to Remy's body, immediately recognizing her as the child from the warehouse. "Sugah, don't waste your tears for that boy, he'll wake up in a couple minutes, Ah promise," Rogue informed the young girl.

Penny immediately stopped crying and gazed at Rogue in confusion. "How do you know I just didn't mess up?" Penny sniffed, darting unsure glances between Remy's still form and Rogue's gentle smile.

"Because Ah kinda drained him right as you were waking us up. He'll be fine, don't worry," Rogue reassured the young, smiling down at her.

Rogue quickly hopped off the bed and approached Remy's slumbering form, gently brushing a stray lock of his hair out of his eyes before kneeling in front of the girl and asking "Are you the one who made me dream?"

Penny sheepishly nodded her head, confirming her role in everything. "Yah put me in a beautiful dream world. You must have an amazing imagination and be very powerful to be able to control that," Rogue complimented the young girl before rising and walking towards the exit.

"Rogue, like, where are you going?" Kitty asked, extremely worried that her best friend was moving around when she should really be in bed, not to mention shocked over her random display of affection for Gambit.

"Ah'll be in the Danger Room," she replied, "Ah'm okay."

"Rogue, you shouldn't be overexerting yourself in the Danger Room," Scott's firm voiced commanded from across the room.

"Unlike some people, Ah'm not weak. Ah can handle the Danger Room now. That dream was just one long cat nap for me," Rogue retorted back before leaving the room.

Scott darkly muttered something under his breath, crossing his arms in a huff and sending worried glances at Fred when all of the Brotherhood burst into laughter. He was a tad worried that Fred would share their… interesting time in the dream.

Watching Rogue exit the room, Kitty felt the events of the day finally begin to sink in. She looked at Penny who was leaning against an empty bed, slowly drifting off to sleep, and decided it was time the young girl took a much needed nap. Kitty wrapped an arm around the small girl's shoulders and led her out of the room, waving goodbye to its occupants. Kitty quickly tucked the girl into a comfortable bed in a guest room upstairs, placing a light kiss on the girl's forehead before exiting the room and trudging down the stairs.

A loud knocking against the door drew Kitty to the front door; who felt like she was doing everything today. Who led the rescue mission, Kitty; who befriended the young mutant and took care of her, Kitty; who was stuck answering the door because everybody else were downstairs in the med lab, Kitty. She jerked open the anger, she was not in the mood for this.

A tall, young man dressed in a wrinkled black suit casually leaned against the doorframe with a cigarette leaning out of his firm lips. Dark locks of unruly hair fell across his forehead, almost covering the dark blue eyes that stared at Kitty in amusement. Kitty slightly blushed upon realizing she had been ogling this gorgeous man in front of her. "Can I help you?" she shyly asked.

"I'm looking for Charles Xavier, is he here?" the young man smoothly replied in a rich, velvety voice, a slight British lilt accented his words.

"Yes, I mean, he lives here," Kitty began, her words slightly stuttering, "but he's not in right now."

"Bloody hell," the man muttered under his breath went to walk into the mansion, "well can I wait for him inside?"

Kitty abruptly slammed her hand across the doorframe, preventing his entrance. His slight aggression snapped her out of her lovesick stupor and adding firmness to her voice. "First off," Kitty began, plucking the cigarette out of the man's mouth, throwing it onto the ground and stubbing it out, "there's no smoking in here. Secondly, I don't know when Professor Xavier's going to return, so there's no point for you to wait inside. And thirdly, I don't know you, let alone trust you, so there is like no way you're getting into this house."

The man's eyes darkened in amusement as he admired the girl in front of him with new respect. "Then allow me to introduce myself, Pete Wisdom," he smiled, grasping her small hand in a slow handshake.

Kitty softly smiled at his attempt to be polite and replied, "Kitty Pryde."

Pete smirked down at the young girl in front of him. She had to be at least six years younger than him, but she was attractive. Wide blue eyes, a pert little nose, and small quirky lips made her simply adorable, and yet, sexy in some way. "So tell me Kitty Pryde," he smirked, pulling her closer with their linked hands, "since Charlie isn't in, I find myself with a free night. What are your plans this evening?"

Kitty's eyes widened in shock, she wasn't expecting this type of question from him. She couldn't believe it, not only were Lance and Piotr "fighting" over her all day, but this complete stranger had asked her out. She had to admit to herself, the mere thought of finding more out about this stranger did intrigue her. He was so mysterious, and mature, a true rebel… and she always had a thing for rebels. Lance and Piotr were great boys, but Pete was man, and that excited her. "Maybe," she coyly replied, leaning into his touch, "what do you have in mind?"

A seductive grin spread over his lips as he reached down and twirled of lock of soft hair from her ponytail around his finger, lowering his face even closer to her own. "How about we go out for drinks," he teased, fully aware that they wouldn't be served alcohol due to her age.

"Are you like insane," she huffed, crossing her arms in anger and turning her back to him, "I'm not of legal age to drink."

"Well then," he smiled and whispered in her ear, " how about I buy us some alcohol and we get drunk in my car?"

"Are you serious," Kitty asked incredulously, "it's three in the afternoon."

"It's after noon, that makes it okay in my book," he grinned and held out his car keys, jingling them in front of her, "why don't we then just drive around for a while and make it up as we go along."

Kitty peeked over his shoulder to spy a sleek, black convertible parked in the driveway. "You got a deal if I can drive," Kitty grinned up at the handsome man in front of her, holding out the palm of her hand expectantly.

"Oh, so then you are old enough to drive?" he teased, dropping the keys in her hand and gesturing to the car with his arms.

Kitty stuck her tongue out at him in response and closed the door behind her as she linked her arms with Pete and walked toward the car. He gallantly opened the driver's side door for her before getting in himself. "Buckle up," Kitty grinned at him, a dangerous glint appearing in her eyes.

"I don't wear a seatbelt," Pete replied, stretching out his legs and linking his hands behind his head in a relaxed manner.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Kitty murmured under her breath and started the car, revving the engine in excitement.

Kitty winked at Pete before quickly shifting the car into drive and peeling out of the driveway. A faint, "Watch the Bloody Gate!" echoed from Pete's lips as the car whipped through the entrance gates and around the bend.

Back in the med lab…

"Mon dieu," Remy murmured, bringing his hands up to rub his temples as his eyes gradually opened, "what a headache."

"Remy," Piotr gasped, rushing over to his friend's waking form, "I am glad you have woken."

"Easy dere Colossus, give a homme some breathing space," Remy grinned, gently pushing the Russian's hovering figure away before pulling himself to a sitting position.

Remy's crimson eyes quickly swept over the room and wasn't the least bit surprised that Rogue was nowhere in sight. "Chicken," he muttered under his breath and hoisted himself off of the bed, leaning on Piotr for support, he was still a little dizzy, "please point Remy in de direction Rogue went."

Piotr merely raised his eyebrow at his friend's request, but complied and silently led the weak Cajun out of the med lab, facing him in the direction Rogue went. "Any suggestions where Remy should look first?" Remy hopefully asked, shaking his head once more and steadying himself on his own weight, ignoring the light-headiness he was feeling. "Danger Room," Piotr softly murmured in his thick, Russian accent, gently pushing Remy in the right direction.

"Merci mon ami," Remy smiled and proceeded down the hall, each step he took seemed to clear his mind as his steps became firmer and more solid.

"Where the hell does he think he's going?" Scott shouted and leaped off of the bed in anger when he spotted Remy, the enemy, walking down the hallway.

Piotr firmly stood in the doorway, blocking Scott's exit. Scott glared at the tall man in front of him and began to lower his red glasses. "Scott," Fred suddenly shouted, a twisted smirk forming on his small lips, "I would calm down if I were you. You must still be a little woozy from that dream, I remember everything clearly, how about you?"

Scott gulped at the hidden threat and slowly turned around and resumed his position on the bed, replacing the wet rag on his forehead.

Meanwhile, down a distant corridor in the mansion…

A lopsided grin graced Remy's face as he stared at the large, metal door with the label DANGER ROOM. "Of course dey label everything here," he muttered under his breath.

The door was completely sealed shut, there were no seams and no visible locks. The only apparent way to gain entrance into the room was by a hand identification scan. 'Dis will be harder den y' originally thought LeBeau,' his mind taunted as he peered at the impenetrable door. He was at the point of ignoring all other options and just kinetically charging the door when he spotted a side door merely four feet away from the intimidating Danger Room door.

The Cajun checked the side door to find it surprisingly unlocked. Grinning to himself, he stealthily slid through the doorway to find even more cute little labels, LOCKER ROOMS: Girls to the right, Boys to the left. "Unbelievable," he murmured as he breezed through the boys locker room, searching for an exit to the Danger Room muttering, "Wonder if dey label de toilets in dis joint…"

Rogue drew in a deep breath before charging at the mechanical objects in front of her. Kicking and punching, doing as much damage as she possibly could, knowing full well that the machines were always replaced. She was frustrated… sexually, mentally, and emotionally. It wasn't fair that she preferred the dream world to the real world. It wasn't fair that she was denied the pleasure to touch after briefly tasting it. She hated the voices that returned in her head, she hated her skin, and dammit, she hated the Cajun for making her want the unattainable even more. "Operation Acolytes," her firm voice ordered to the Danger Room computer. Instantly in front of her, Magneto, Sabertooth, Pyro, Colossus, and Gambit materialized to produce fake copies if the mutants. Even though the characters were fake they looked, acted, and even fought exactly like the real mutants. The computer even managed to make the opponents powers actually hurt the person training if they were hit by an attack.

Rogue zeroed in on Magneto first, even though her absorbing powers would be useless in practice against robots, this training boosted her combat and strategy skills. She soon broke into a sweat as one by one she took out the members of the Acolytes. By tricking Magneto to use his power against Colossus she knocked the Russian out. Using Pyro's stray flames to scald Sabertooth, Rogue finished the job by ramming a steel rod through the animalistic man's chest. Pyro was easily taken care of by slamming his head into the wall. But Magneto was the most challenging. Rogue had to abide her time and calculate his moves. In the end, she turned his own power against him resulting in a large, steel plate crushing a very still Magneto.

Rogue felt his stare from the shadows and knew that robot Gambit had been lurking there the entire time, observing her moves, looking for the best way to take her out. He came from the shadows and stepped directly into her view. In fact, he closed the distance between them, standing an arms length away.

She paused in her attack and studied the robot in front of her. He looked like Gambit, but he was the old Gambit. The Gambit in front of her was the enemy; this thing wasn't Remy. But then again, did she know the real Remy? Physically he was an Adonis as well as a joker, very protective of her, and god could he kiss. But she knew nothing about his past, about his likes, or about his family. To be fair, he didn't really know anything about her either. In fact, the only true things they knew about each other was learned from reading each others statistics during a mission. How did she know if the Remy in the dream world was anything like the Remy in the real world?

Rogue continued to peer at the robot in front of her, and when that slow seductive smile that screamed 'I know something you don't,' was directed at her, she felt something click in her mind. Whether it was the real, robot, or dream Remy, he knew how to get under her skin.

When the robot raised a charged card at her mockingly, Rogue jeered back, wrapping her hands around his throat and snapping his neck. "Session completed," a monotone voice echoed through the Danger Room.

Rogue smiled at herself, silently congratulating herself as she made her way towards the exit, she really needed a shower.

A steady clapping began to echo throughout the room as yet another Gambit materialized from the shadows. Rogue's eyes widened in disbelief and she vaguely wondered how much of her fight he saw. "Remind Remy never t' get on y' bad side," he teased and slowly made his way towards her.

Rogue awkwardly smiled at his remark and immediately clasped her hands nervously, the tense atmosphere hung over the couples heads. "Remy must admit chere," he murmured as he halted mere inches from her taunt body, "he was a little upset that y' weren't dere when he woke up."

"Ah needed ta work out. Ah missed my early morning session," she stuttered, not meeting his searching gaze and timidly stepping back from him.

"Bullshit," he murmured, once more closing the space in between them, "y're avoiding Remy."

"What if Ah am," she replied, raising her eyes defiantly to his smoldering gaze.

"Why?" he asked disbelievingly, slowly reaching out and grasping her gloved hands within his own.

"Remy," she began, having practiced this speech in her mind ever since she woke up, "Ah had fun with yah in the dream, but it was a dream. This ain't gonna work in the real world."

Remy's eyes hardened with each word she spoke, clenching his jaw in anger. She was the first girl in his like that he wanted to spend more time with and get to know. He didn't want a flimsy relationship with this girl; he had somehow become enraptured with Rogue. And she was just trying to brush it all off. Remy quickly pulled her against his body, running his black-gloved hands through her hair and resting his lips mere centimeters from her own. He smirked in satisfaction when he heard her breath hitch in excitement, feeling her rapid heartbeat pulse against his fingertips. "Dis ain't real?" he asked mockingly, leaning over to whisper his words in her ear.

Rogue couldn't hide the pleasurable shiver that rocked through her frame, the Cajun was using her treacherous body against her. "Lust ain't gonna cut it swamp rat," she replied sadly, tenderly running a gloved finger down the side of his face.

"Remy not talking bout lust, he's talking bout passion. Dere's something between us, y' feel it too don't y'?" he asked, frantically meeting her gaze, hoping her feelings were mutual.

Rogue's jaw slightly unhinged, she never would have guessed that he'd be so open with her about his feelings. "Yes," she murmured weakly, "but we won't last."

"How do y' know that if we haven't tried chere?" Remy responded, placing a soft kiss on her temple, using her hair as a barrier between her skin, "come on, lets give it a chance."

Rogue cracked a smile at his persistence and felt herself leaning into his embrace. "Alright then, we'll give "us" a chance," she agreed, linking her arm through his and leading him out of the Danger Room, "it'll be strained, us being on different sides and all."

"Remy's been getting tired of Magneto anyway, maybe he'll play de good guy for a while," he grinned, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, "just tink chere, if Remy be an X-Men wit y', he'll be living in de same house. Remy sure we can use dat t' our advantage."

"And what makes yah think the professor's just gonna let yah? We have standards yah know," she taunted back, feeling completely at ease with his arm around her.

"Chere, y' wound Remy. Everyone likes Remy, how could dey not?" he cheekily replied, sliding his hand down her back to briefly caress her rear.

Rogue jumped in surprise at his intimate touch. Grinning mischievously, she quickly grabbed his firm rear winking at him when she lightly squeezed it.

Laughing out loud at her forwardness Remy gently pushed her against the wall, kissing her neck through her uniform. Rogue abruptly lifted his chin to meet her serious gaze. "Lets just get one thing straight Cajun, if yah are with me, yah stay faithful to me," she ordered sternly, "now give me your word that yah will be faithful to me and understand that Ah will castrate yah if yah ever cheat on me."

In mock seriousness, Remy placed his right hand over his heart and replied, "Remy solemnly swear t' stay faithful t' his Rogue."

"Good," she grinned and once more began walking down the hall.

"Wait a sec chere, aren't y' gonna swear an oath of faithfulness?" he called after her retreating form, breaking into a jog to keep up with her as she approached the elevator.

Rogue merely smirked at him in response and pressed the button to close the door on his face. Remy stuck his foot out to stop the closing door and nimbly climbed into the elevator, his tall figure towered over Rogue's as he tapped his foot impatiently waiting for her reply. "Remy," she smiled, bringing his gloved hand to his lips and tenderly kissing his palm, "Ah would never cheat on yah."

He grinned at her, "Remy knows dat chere," pulling her into a loose embrace.

The elevator stopped at the dormitory level and the couple stepped out holding hands, silently walking down the hallway together, both afraid that this was merely an extension of another dream. "Ah'm gonna take a nap," Rogue trailed off as they stopped in front of her door, "wanna join me?"

"Remy would love t' chere… but maybe y' should take a shower first, y smell pretty bad…" he trailed off, patiently waiting for her infamous temper to show, she just looked so cute when she was mad.

Rogue grinned darkly and narrowed her eyes at his response, opening her door, stepping into her room, and slamming the door in his face, locking it firmly. "Oh come on chere," Remy pleaded, pounding on the door, "Remy was just joking. Let Remy in, he's sleepy."

The Cajun groaned in defeat at her silence, turning and leaning his back on her door, vaguely wondering if he's ever slept standing up before. Just as his eyes drifted close, the door was unlocked and opened; a gloved hand reached for the collar of his trench coat and jerked him inside of the room, firmly shutting the door and locking it.

The End

A/N: Ahh, I didn't really want to end it here, so yes, I'm almost finished with an epilogue. In it there will be even more Romy (of course), Kitty and her entourage will meet each other for the first time (talk about tension, who will Kitty chose?), and of course, I'm bringing Logan (once more) into my story.

Yep, my surprise character was Pete Wisdom from the comics. He was a great character and he was so cute with Kitty. If some of you don't know who is, I suggest googling him cause you fall for his character as well. Most of you are probably noticinga trend in my stories, I don't really like the angst in the Romy relationship. So of course, I try to make all of mine happy endings, I don't know if this take away from anything, but I much prefer the flirting couple to the fighting couple. Well, I'll update in a day or so...


	8. Epilogue

Disclaimer: X-Men are not mine, geez, writing this is so tedious…

Epilogue

His crimson on black eyes opened languidly, staring at the red digit clock on the bedside table. He had been sleeping for four hours and felt completely refreshed. But he didn't quite feel like moving yet. In fact, if he had any say in the matter he would remain in this position forever. He felt like the luckiest man alive, he had found his match and she was lying in his arms. He marveled over the tiniest aspects about her that others may deem insignificant, but he dearly treasured. Rogue was a mystery to him, but that was part of the excitement. He loved her temper and passionate nature, how she had the ability to be both strong and fragile… her every move mystified him and left him wanted more. He was never sure if she would return his advances or rebut him. In fact, Remy LeBeau didn't truly know the young woman in his arms, but he was more than will to spend the time and learn. His thumbs tenderly stroked her covered shoulder and leaned closer to her lush body, savoring the smell of her hair. He probably could have spent the entire day watching her, but the object of his attention was waking up and that was always amusing to watch.

Rogue's eyes snapped open, she felt an unusual pleasant warmth surrounding her body. When a warm hand slowly snaked around her covered waist and pulled her body closer to his, Rogue smiled and remembered exactly who she was sleeping with. Letting out a noiseless yawn, she brushed her cheek against her pillow in case she had been drooling before stretching her limbs and purposely smacking Remy with a flailing arm. "Not funny chere," the man grumbled, rubbing his sore nose in protest.

She turned to say something, only realizing when she opened her mouth that her breath was horrible. Rogue immediately closed her mouth and buried her head under her pillow. "Chere, why de sudden modesty," Remy teased, playfully lifting up the corner of her pillow and grinning at her.

"Mah breath stinks," she grumbled and buried herself further under the covers.

Remy began chuckling and rolled off her bed, grabbing his trench coat on the way out. "Well den, Remy'll let y' alone t' take care of dat and he'll come get y' at nine o'clock for our date," he explained, opening the door and stepping into the hallway.

"What date?" Rogue asked incredulously, emerging from her covers abruptly.

"De one at nine o'clock," he grinned and softly closed the door, "see y' den chere."

"Damn cocky Cajun," she muttered and somewhat gracefully climbed out of bed, chancing a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror.

Rogue held back the scream threatening to burst at the sight of herself. Her hair was matted in thick chunks, her eyes were puffy, and she had hideous pillow creases adorning every angle of her face, not to mention her breath. "Ah'm definitely not in the dream world anymore," she sighed, grabbing her towel and trudging down the hallway towards the bathroom.

Thirty minutes later a refreshed, sweet smelling Rogue entered her room clad in a fuzzy robe with a towel wrapped around her head. She slowly sank in front of her mirror, opening her desk drawer of make up. A thin, silver box rested on top of her cosmetics, nestled firmly between the pale as death foundation and bright purple eye shadow. A soft smile slowly spread across her lips as she gingerly lifted the box and opened its lid, there was only one person who would give her a gift like this. Rogue lifted a sheer, black scarf out of the box, marveling at the soft material as it teasingly rested against her hands. A small note fluttered from the scarf, landing neatly on her lap. She quickly opened the note, puzzling over its message:

_Bonsoir mon belle Goth,_

_Hope you enjoy the gift, please wear it for Remy tonight. We're going to dinner and a dance club. Remy can't wait to see what type of sexy outfit you will be wearing._

_Remy_

_P.S. Don't wear any lipstick tonight or it'll ruin the surprise._

"Lipstick… out of all of the things the Cajun tells me not to wear he chooses lipstick," she muttered in confusion until suddenly her eyes opened in realization as her fingers brushed across her lips.

Grinning, Rogue leapt from her desk and hurried to her closet. Tonight, she was going to look so good the smooth-talking Cajun would lose his power of speech.

Lance impatiently drummed his fingers against the plush armchair he was residing in. It had been hours since he last saw Kitty, she had left without telling anyone where she had gone. He had to tell her that he messed up. He really did care for her and still liked her, enough to start seeing each other again, although he wasn't the only one waiting for Kitty Pryde.

Piotr leaned against the doorframe next to the entrance hall. He wanted to thank Kitty for her help and hospitality, and possibly ask her out. However, with her glaring ex-boyfriend residing in the same room within sprinting distance to the front door, he wondered how good his chances were.

When the front door handle began to turn, both boys stiffened and bolted to the opening door, they were in no way prepared for the sight that greeted them. A very drunk Kitty Pryde was whistling a slurred melody as she staggered into the entrance hall. Her groggy vision miscalculated the position of the chair and fell to the floor in an ungraceful heap.

Lance and Piotr felt their jaws slightly unhinge as they witnessed Kitty's intoxicated scene, neither knowing what to do. When she began giggling uncontrollably, they began to get worried. "Watch your step there luv," an equally drunk man tripped over the rug but surprisingly didn't fall.

Lance darted glances at the drunken Kitty and the drunken older man as the situation became clear to him. "What the hell is your problem?" Lance spat, angrily stepping towards the British man's swaying figure, "getting Kitty drunk and taking advantage of her!"

"Oh sod off," Pete snapped, apparently he wasn't as drunk as he seemed.

He approached Kitty's still giggling figure and hoisted her to her feet, gently brushing his nose against hers as his eyes took a softer look, "I didn't force you to do anything you weren't willing to do, did I Kitty?"

"No," she smiled, swaying closer to his embrace before returning his gaze from under lowered lashes, "I was completely willing."

Lance felt his gut tighten as a slow realization crept over him; he had lost his chance with her. He blew it with the wonderful, smart, funny, sexy Kitty Pryde. "Oh geez, I'm like being rude," Kitty beamed, grabbing Pete's hand and leading him towards the taunt figures of the other boys. "Pete, meet Lance, my ex-boyfriend," Kitty began motioning to Lance, "he dumped me, although I never really understood the reason. And this is Piotr, the first guy to show me any attention since Lance. Boys, this is Pete."

The three males stared at each other in a stony silence, each sizing each other up, believing themselves to be the best man for Kitty. Before the atmosphere could get any more tense, Scott and Jean strolled into the entrance hall, prepared to wait for the professor's late return. "Why are you two still here?" Scott asked angrily at Lance and Piotr before his gaze rested on Pete, "and who are you?"

"Watch your mouth Summers," Lance gritted between his teeth as his eyes took on an dangerous glint, "I know all about your little dream."

Scott's breath hitched and he held onto Jean's hand tightly. Jean rolled her eyes at his actions… like she didn't know why he was so worried about this little secret getting out. "Shut up Lance," Scott glared back, his palms were starting to get sweaty.

"What was his dream about?" Kitty asked curiously, letting out a soft hiccup and nearly losing her balance.

"Are you drunk!" Scott accused as his mind frantically wondered what the professor would think.

"You didn't drive home did you?" Piotr softly asked, worried that his crush had been in danger.

"Nah," Pete replied, smirking at Kitty out of the corner of his eye, "we took a taxi halfway here, but then Kitty randomly phased out of it… so we decided to walk home after that."

"Getting drunk and using your powers in public is against school rules Kitty," Jean scolded; happy that Scott's secret didn't leak out.

"Scott was gay in his dream," Lance blurted and began snickering at Scott's discomfort, "he tried to come on to Fred."

"Like wow," Kitty began giggling, hot tears sliding down her cheeks, "and you know, I talked to Penny about how her dreams work and apparently they like, grant your deepest wish."

Everyone minus Jean and Scott began chuckling, Scott felt the heated blush from rising to his cheeks and Jean was ticked that now her reputation was in danger. "That makes sense," Lance further supported Kitty's explanation, "because Pietro and Wanda reconciled, and I know they always wanted to have closer family ties and Fred was always worried about food."

"Yeah," Kitty murmured, when a puzzling look crossed over her features, "then what happened in Rogue and Gambit's dream?"

At that precise moment the door quickly opened and Gambit strolled into the mansion like he owned the place. "What do you think you're doing?" Scott shouted; his mansion was being flooded with strangers and enemies.

"Bonsoir (Good evening)," Remy casually greeted the whole group before walking over to the stairs shouting, "hurry up chere or y' gonna be late."

When a long string of curses floated down the stairs in an angry Southern accent, Remy smirked, knowing that she got the message. "Um," Kitty began, tugging on Remy's trench coat, "what are you doing?"

"Oh sorry petite," Remy grinned, gallantly kissing her hand, raising an eyebrow at the stench of alcohol emitting from her small body, "Remy LeBeau at y're service. He's here t' take Rogue out."

"What," Jean sputtered, staring at the attractive man in front of her.

How did Rogue get the French-speaking Cajun in the tight dark shirt that displayed his muscled form as well as a sexy trench coat? "X-Men don't date their enemies," she curtly replied, raising her eyebrow at the not so subtle snorting of Kitty and Lance.

"Dat works perfectly den," he smirked, his crimson eyes glittering dangerously, "Remy contacted y' professor today about joining de team and it's official, Remy now be a member of de team."

"Sugah, yah actually joined the team?" Rogue asked surprisingly as she slowly descended the stairs, catching the tail end of the conversation.

"Oui chere, Remy…" his words died on his lips as he beheld her approaching figure.

His scarf was wrapped tightly around her bare neck, resting above the tight, full-sleeved sheer emerald shirt that hugged her gorgeous figure like a second skin. Her brazen, black push-up bra accented her natural curves through the transparent shirt and a tight, black miniskirt tempted her audience with her toned, slender legs encased in sheer, skin-tone stockings with a pair of black, strappy heels. She still wore her regular Goth makeup and left her streaked hair down, but one aspect was missing, she wasn't wearing any lipstick.

A smug smile graced her pouty lips as she stopped in front of the speechless Cajun, mission accomplished. "Rogue," Kitty broke the silence, "you look amazing."

Amazing, was in fact, an understatement. Kitty couldn't remember ever seeing Rogue look so happy, she was literally beaming. She was actually smiling, confident, and Kitty was happy for her. "Thanks Kitty," Rogue winked, turning her attention to the speechless Cajun.

Softly closing his gaping mouth, Rogue leaned towards her date, teasing, "So Remy are we going to dinner or just gonna stand here, cause Ah'm famished."

Remy still remained silent as he gazed at her in awe, tilting his head slightly to the side as if that would improve his chances of looking up her short skirt. "Of course chere," Remy finally managed to find his voice, gallantly holding out his arm as they walked to the exit.

The group watched in confusion as the couple closed the front door behind them. Through her drunken haze, Kitty's heart leapt for joy at Rogue's good fortune. She somehow always knew her best friend was a confident flirt under all that makeup and glares. And to think it only took a persistent Cajun to crack open her shell.

"That's something you don't see everyday," Lance muttered, grabbing his coat and heading to the door.

It was late, he was tired, confused, and frustrated. Muttering a quick goodbye and sending a lingering glance at Kitty on his way out, he prepared himself for the lonely drive back to the boarding house.

"Vell, I must be going as vell," Piotr murmured and placed a soft kiss on Kitty's hand, "Tank you Katya for helping me. Maybe I could interest you in a coffee sometime?"

"I'd like that," Kitty smiled and waved to his retreating form as he exited the mansion.

"Oh, I see how it is," Pete started accusingly, raising his voice in mock anger, "use me for my Scotch and then ditch me for another."

Kitty rolled her eyes at his theatrics and grabbed his hand, leading him up the stairs. "We like, never decided to be mutually exclusive, as a matter of fact, we have yet to go on a real date. You still owe me a decent meal."

"What's wrong with Scotch?" he teased, bringing a cigarette to his lips, preparing to light it.

Kitty immediately swatted the cigarette out of his lips, crushing it in her hand, "I told you to stop smoking these things; they are like ingesting poison into your system. Now stop whining, I'm showing you to your room."

Jean and Scott watched the puzzling display of affection between the couple until they disappeared from sight. Suddenly feeling bored and miserable, Jean pulled her hand out of Scott's confining grip and headed upstairs to give herself a facial. Scott solemnly watched his girlfriend's retreating figure sadly and sunk into a chair, prepared to wait up for the professor.

The two Southerners silently strolled into the mansion's garage, wondering which vehicle to borrow for the night. Remy halted in front of a sleek, black motorcycle, running his gloved fingers across its smooth surface. "Remy," Rogue warned, guiding his hand off of the bike, "that's Logan's bike."

"Chere, we're just borrowing it, he'll never know," he replied.

"He'll smell us on it," Rogue muttered, knowing the consequences of taking the bike and yet yearning to experience the feeling riding it.

Remy merely shrugged in response and steered her towards the bike. "Remy, Ah said no, Ah wouldn't do that to Logan," Rogue snapped and planted her feet firmly on the ground.

"It's just for one night. Why are y' picking dis Logan over Remy," he snapped back as his blood began to boil, only Rogue could get under his skin like this.

"Why are yah getting all defensive and jealous?" she argued back, her chest rapidly rising and falling in excitement, she loved fighting with him.

Remy scoffed and angrily crossed his arms in annoyance, "Remy's not jealous," he muttered, realizing how utterly beautiful she looked when she was angry.

"You're being childish," Rogue scolded, a teasing light entering her eyes, "Ah need a man to keep me satisfied Sugah and if you're not man enough to rise to the challenge…"

Rogue's words died off when Remy approached her, a dark, challenging look in his eye. "Is dat a challenge?" he whispered, stopping so that their bodies lightly brushed against each other, their passionate glares interlocking.

"Yes it is…" Rogue smiled and playfully tickled the side of his stomach.

A mischievous grin spread over Remy's face as he drew her into a tight embrace, murmuring into her hair, "Remy loves dese fights of ours. It makes y' look all flustered and sexy."

"Ah know what yah mean," Rogue whispered back, gently running her gloved fingers over his sculpted lips, "Remy it just isn't fair, Ah want to touch yah again."

A sly look crossed his face and he began loosening the scarf from her neck, softly asking, "Are y' ready for dat surprise Remy promised?"

Rogue's hands darted to her neck, holding the remainder of the scarf in place, afraid to let any bare skin show. Remy watched her reaction with sad eyes; they still had a long way to go together before they were more comfortable with each other. "Did it ever occur t' y' chere why Remy bought dis particular material?" he softly questioned, smoothing the soft material along her jaw.

"A few thoughts came to mind," Rogue admitted, closing her eyes in pleasure, imagining it was his bare fingers that were stroking her that way.

Smirking at her response, Remy lowered the soft material over her lips and briefly kissed her through the thin material. Rogue opened her eyes in astonishment, the cloth prevented her mutation from hurting Remy and it was so thin it almost felt like his bare lips.

Grinning in excitement, she unwound more of the scarf from her neck and placed the material over Remy's lips before threading her fingers through his thick hair and pulling his mouth roughly over hers. Rogue took control of the kiss, slanting her mouth in order to feel his whole mouth against hers. She began gently nibbling on his lower lip, thrusting her body against his; a heated need had spread over her entire body.

Remy groaned against her teasing mouth, pulling her even tighter against his lean body. As he deepened the kiss, he lifted her body and slowly slid her down his body, slightly pausing when her womanhood touched his stiff arousal. The couple slowly broke away from their kiss panting with swollen lips and tousled hair. Remy leaned down to resume the kiss when she held up her fingers to his mouth in protest. "Whatever happened to the dinner yah promised me?" she coyly asked.

"Y' still thinking of dinner?" Remy asked incredulously and tried to think of cold showers, "y're a tease."

"Me," she smirked, leaning towards him and trailing her hand down his chest, across his belly and stopping mere centimeters away from his hard member, "a tease… never."

Smirking at her game Remy lifted her gloved hand, placing a soft kiss on her palm, pulling her closer as he whispered in her ear, "Y' don't know what y're getting into chere. Seduction is Remy's territory."

Grinning at him, she licked her lips, "Bring it on Cajun."

Chuckling at her he scooped her into his arms and placed her on Logan's bike, lightly kissing the side of her neck through the scarf, murmuring, "We'll see who wins chere. By de end of de night I'll have y' pinned against the wall, moaning and thrusting into my hand."

Rogue shivered in delight when his hands slowly slid up her legs, stopping at the hem of her skirt as his lean fingers crept towards her inner thighs. Realizing that he once again used "I", she grinned in satisfaction and motioned for him to get on the motorcycle, she loved having this type of power over him. Rogue was looking forward to this night even more and couldn't wait till it began.

Chuckling at her eager agreement, he slid in front of her, jerking when her smooth legs wrapped around his waist and pulling herself up against his body, intimately pressing her hot center against the back of his trench coat as she lightly bit his shoulder, urging him to start the bike. Remy seductively smirked as he started the bike and revved out of the garage. Tonight marked the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

One hour later the remaining students and teachers entered the X-mansion, most heading up to their rooms leaving only Logan, the professor, and Scott remaining in the entrance hall. "Logan, please use your heightened senses to make sure everything is fine," the professor politely asked before turning his attention to Scott who seemed desperate to discuss something with him.

Logan sniffed the air around him and his eyes widened in shock, there were so many different scents circling this place it was overwhelming his senses. After dismissing the old scents and those who had left the mansion, four surprising new scents affronted his sensitive nose. Kitty, the little half-pint, was completely plastered. Her scent mixed with that of… Scotch… lingered throughout the entire entry hall. He quickly tracked her scent to her door and a slight smile tugged his lips as loud, drunken snores echoed from her bedroom. Logan continued his trek down the hall and stopped at the guest room, the new scent he located was currently residing in this room. Once Logan was satisfied that this guest Charles had told him about was indeed in his own room, a dark eyebrow arched in surprise at the man's fondness for alcohol and smoking… he may have just found himself a drinking buddy.

Taking care of those scents he hurried downstairs to spend the most time on the scent he was most worried about, his favorite pupil, Rogue. As he descended the stairs his sensitive hearing picked up the remaining of the conversation between the professor and Scott.

"Professor I really need you to do this for me. I'm your best student and have always supported you. If this leaks out any further my entire leadership status would be at stake," Scott pleaded from his knelt position in front of the professor.

"Scott," the professor began, "erasing peoples minds is no small favor… but because it's for you, I will gladly be of assistance."

"Oh thank you professor," Scott nearly cried in grief, desperately clinging onto the professor in a tight hug.

"Now go to bed, everything will be forgotten in the morning," the professor smiled, watching Scott leave, patiently waiting for Logan to reveal himself, "I trust Logan that you will ignore that conversation as I have ignored your secret stash of alcohol on school property."

Logan merely grunted in response and watched the professor glide away before continuing his "sniff patrol". He wanted to know why Rogue's scent was mixed with Gambit's. He didn't care that as of today, that dirty Cajun had joined their ranks. He was slightly suspicious of Gambit's reasons for joining the team, and Logan had a gnawing suspicion it had to deal with Rogue. He continued to track their scents out of the mansion into the garage. Upon entering the large vehicle storehouse, he nearly gagged from the powerful scent of lust in the room. His eyes narrowed at the empty spot where his favorite bike normally rested. He started grinding his teeth together in fury, the scent was extremely powerful in this spot. "The Cajun did something to Rogue… on my bike…," he ground out through his gnashing teeth, fully aware that Rogue did nothing to stop him, "early danger room practices… for the rest of their lives."

A devious plan began to form in Logan's mind and a smug smirk quirked his lips in amusement. Wouldn't it be perfect to catch the couple in the act of returning his bike? Now grinning, he walked over to the fridge and reached for a cold beer, twisting off the cap and guzzling half the bottle. He calmly walked over to the workbench and pulled the stool to the middle of the garage where his bike normally rests. He settled himself comfortably into the seat and waited. He pulled a cigar out of his jacket and patiently lit it, taking a long drag and blowing the smoke out softly. Taking a slow sip of his beer, Logan smiled in satisfaction; there was nothing better than drinking a cold beer, smoking a good cigar, and personally ripping the head off of a horny Cajun. Yep, it was going to be a good night.

A/N: I think all stories should involve Logan, he makes the scenes so much more fun. Well, that's it, the actual end... maybe... If I get really inspired, I might just write what happens at the club between Rogue and Remy, but I don't know if I'd make it a lemon or not... suggestions would be very appreciated. However, I'm also working on 2 new Romy stories... but they're no where near done, so who knows when I'll have them published. Anyway, thanks to all you have reviewed, I especially liked the long, lengthy reviews from a few of you, some of them made me laugh out loud. Until next time.


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